Ed Miliband Takes 12 Hours To Wittily Respond To Myleene Klass Over Mansion Tax Row

Ed Miliband Takes 12 Hours To Wittily Respond To Myleene Klass
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Twelve hours after the world's most unlikely political clash, Ed Miliband has hit back at Myleene Klass.

Proving that perhaps the Labour leader needed to put some hours into crafting a witty response, and a PR team to do some research into the pop star's background, Miliband responded by tweeting a link to Labour's six-point defence of policy with a dig on a Hear’Say song title.

The Labour leader went head-to-head with the 36-year-old presenter, famous for her role in the short-lived pop group, over his pledge to impose a new policy on mansion tax during a live ITV debate, 'The Agenda'.

It is unlikely Miliband would have been a keen Hear'Say fan before the show, based on his musical choices on Desert Island Discs.

The opposition leader opted for stirring tunes such as the South African national anthem and Jerusalem, as well as a nod to the pop charts with Take On Me by A-ha – the video for which was recently parodied by Harry Hill – and Angels by Robbie Williams.

Hear’Say's debut single Pure and Simple reached No 1 in the charts in 2001, so this was the best Labour could come up with:

Klass, who is now the face of the Littlewood's catalogue, was accused of being "out of touch" and hypocritical after giving Miliband a verbal lashing over his proposed policy on Monday evening.

The former pop star, who is thought to be worth more than £11 million, seemed to be extremely confident with her understanding of the UK's taxation system and condemned Miliband's pledge to impose a tax on homes worth more than £2million.

Miliband could only look on in bewilderment as Klass ranted at him: "For me, it’s so disturbing – the name in its own right: 'mansion tax'".

"Immediately you conjure up an image of these Barbie-esque houses, but in London, which is where 80 per cent of the people who will be paying this tax actually live, have you seen what that amount of money can get you? It’s like a garage," she said.

The singer, who reportedly sold her home last year for £1.8 million, seemed to think that even "garages" in London are in the same price bracket.

Many were quick to highlight that that her comment isn't quite true.

Labour MPs have since complained that Klass was rude to Miliband, but acknowledged that Miliband had appeared flustered by a pop star.

Atul Hatwal wrote on the Labour Uncut website: “Comparing taxing a glass of water to higher tax rates for properties worth over £2m is idiotic. But because Myleene was up against a hesitant and tentative Ed Miliband, she has emerged this morning in the press as an anti-tax Boudicca.”

A fund-raising page has now been set up for the singer, which reads: “Help Myleene Klass pay her Mansion Tax.

"Myleene is a struggling mother with a fortune of £11m who needs our help. Please be generous.”

During the heated debate, host Tom Bradby was even forced to step in to try and calm the escalating tension by saying: "Ed’s getting a bit isolated here."

But Klass, continuing with her rant hit back: "Ed’s getting isolated because no one thinks it is going to work."

"You may as well just tax me on this glass of water. You can’t just point at things and tax them," she added.

The incident echoes millionaire footballer Sol Campbell also voicing his concerns over Labour's proposed mansion tax.

The former Arsenal and England defender launched into an outburst as never-ending as his sliding tackle, then it emerged he had put his mansion up for sale at £25 million.