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Dresner, one of the Labour leader’s speechwriters, wrote that it was key to Miliband’s political success that he give an address setting out his view that growth would come from boosting the middle class, not those at the top. He pointed to the decisive impact of Barack Obama’s speech on this topic on the US Presidential campaign. Miliband, a keen follower of US politics, was gripped. He sent his brains trust away for Christmas with instructions to think about policies that would exemplify this approach. The result: Miliband’s announcement that a Labour government would introduce a ‘mansion tax’ on £2 million-plus homes and use that to pay for the restoration of the 10p tax rate for low-earners.