Now Murphy joins the battle

First it was Lord Glason,now shadow defence secretary Jim Murphy has questioned the party's relentless attack on spending cuts without its own solution.

This morning's Guardian quotes Murphy as saying that the party must reject 'shallow and temporary' populism.

Once again this could well be an attack not on the leader but on his shadow Chancellor.

Murphy is talking specifically about defence cuts telling the paper that he agrees with £5bn of the government's planned cuts in defence.

However the inference is there for all to see.

As Glen Ogazla has just written at Boulton and Co

Although he does not attack Ed Miliband's leadership (he was, you may remember, David Miliband's campaign manager during the Labour leadership election), Jim Murphy highlights the great problem for Ed Miliband so far: He is not getting through and not being seen as a Prime Minister in waiting.

Whilst
Peter Hoskin at Coffee hails the fact that Murphy goes beyond this simple rhetoric, becoming the first shadow minister to give some of those ‘details’ that Balls mentioned.

Whatever the behind the scenes manoeuvrings,it appears that the party may be finally getting its act into gear over its opposition to the coalition's deficit reduction strategy.

Credible fiscal alternatives rather than blazon rhetoric will win the voters to the cause