For a man who seeks to claim the statesman-like mantle of Margaret Thatcher, Ed Miliband has an odd way of going about it. The Labour leader triggered comparisons with the much-mocked soapbox of the Iron Lady’s hapless successor John Major yesterday as he stood awkwardly on a pallet, microphone in hand, to address voters outside a shopping centre. Despite cutting a rather ridiculous figure campaigning in the South Shields by-election – the seat left vacant by his brother David’s move to New York – Mr Miliband is clearly determined to acquire some of Lady Thatcher’s gravitas. Scroll down for video Boxing clever? Labour leader Ed Milliband used a wooden pallet to address locals in South Shields but was confused with his brother David who quit as the town's MP Onlookers questioned how useful the box was at making him visible to shoppers as they milled around the town centre In an audacious speech today, he will suggest he has the same strength of conviction and determination t