We have to talk about the vilification of Ed Miliband. Look, I count myself as a critic of the Labour leader. Labour should be offering a more radical alternative, whether it be on austerity, the living wage, housing, public ownership of utilities or tax justice. Miliband’s personal ratings – now steadily improving from a low base – cannot be entirely blamed on a viciously hostile media, but also on his team’s own communication failings and frequent failure to inspire. If we lived in a rational, mature democracy that wasn’t dominated by shamelessly self-interested private interests running the “free media”, we would be able to debate these issues sensibly. Sadly, we do not.

Consider the attacks mounted against Miliband. He will “stab the United Kingdom in the back” (the stab-the-country-in-the-back trope having a sinister pedigree, as Channel 4 News’s Paul Mason and others have pointed out). His father “hated Britain”. He “looks weird”. He is a “north London geek” or “north London intellectual” or “part of the north London elite”. His refusal to apologise for the myth of Labour overspending makes him “deeply unpatriotic”. He is the de facto friend of a hostile foreign power, specifically Putin’s Russia.

Let’s not dance around here. These attacks are sinister. Miliband is being portrayed as not just lacking loyalty to his own nation, but being actively hostile to it. A fifth column, if you will, an enemy within. That the target of this constant drip-drip of “questionable national loyalty to say the least” is the Jewish son of an immigrant is disturbing. Political debate is being consistently demeaned and poisoned by rightwing politicians and media outlets.

Here is the problem for the Tories and their media allies. On many economic issues, the public is solidly on the left – indeed, to the left of the Labour leadership, let alone the Tories. Perceptive rightwing commentators know this, like former City AM editor Allister Heath who despaired that: “Slowly but surely, the public is turning its back on the free market economy and re-embracing an atavistic version of socialism which, if implemented, would end in tears.” Polls show support for public ownership of utilities like rail and energy, higher taxes on the rich, a higher minimum wage and controls on prices. The Tories, meanwhile, are seen as the party of the rich by the majority of the country.

So what do you do if you’re a Tory? You make the public believe that policies they like will end in economic ruin if actually implemented. You stir up resentment against immigrants, unemployed people and public sector workers. And you unleash a campaign of really rather sinister demonisation against the leader of your main opposition.

Many Scots will bitterly point out that a similar campaign of venom was unleashed during the referendum campaign, and that Labour acquiesced in it. They are quite right, and I warned Labour that the same fire would be turned on them when the election approached. But that doesn’t mean compounding the same mistake and standing back while a similarly unjust campaign is unleashed, allowing our democracy to be corrupted.

Will this orchestrated campaign work? So far, it seems not: Labour’s support appears to be rallying, less than four weeks from the general election. The Tories were supposed to have a sustained lead by now. They will be in the throes of panic, as will their media allies, who long ago decided that it was unacceptable for Miliband to become prime minister. The dose of poison will be increased; accelerant will be carefully poured on the flames. If it works, it will be vindication of such a strategy in political debate. It will be repeated time and time again, perhaps with ever increasing intensity. And that is reason enough to evict the Tories from No 10, and make sure a very clear lesson is learned.