Labour's 'Ed Stone' Of Miliband Pre-Election Pledges Revealed To Cost £8,000

Labour Must Regret Spending This Much Money On 'Ed Stone'
Labour leader Ed Miliband unveils Labour's pledges carved into a stone plinth in Hastings during General Election campaigning.
Labour leader Ed Miliband unveils Labour's pledges carved into a stone plinth in Hastings during General Election campaigning.
Stefan Rousseau/PA Wire

Ed Miliband's infamous 'Ed Stone', unveiled by the ex-Labour leader just days before last year's general election, cost the party £8,000, it has been reported.

The receipt for his 8ft-high limestone tablet, engraved with six key policy pledges, was found by party officials after a frantic search at its headquarters when the elections watchdog said it had not been filed.

Some newspapers estimated at the time it could have cost up to £30,000.

A Labour spokesperson claimed Miliband's monolith was omitted from a document detailing election spending because of an "administrative error", saying that the issue would be dealt with "as soon as possible".

The stone was originally unveiled in a car park in Hastings on May 2, Miliband promising to move it in to Downing Street if he won the election.

He had intended to reveal it in a school hall, but but the floor was not strong enough to support the two-tonne slab, forcing him to pose for pictures outside instead.

It was roundly mocked at the time, with Boris Johnson criticising it as "absolutely crazy" and "a waste of good stone".

Others, including one of the show's writers, compared it to a scene from political satire TV show 'The Thick Of It'.

But Miliband himself defended the move, saying it had at least "got people talking".

Fans of the Labour leader or election-memorabilia collectors will be disappointed to know that the stone was likely destroyed in the days after his defeat on May 7.

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