By James Macintyre
Amid the media storm created by the Foreign Secretary's bombshell article laying out a domestic political agenda yesterday, spare a thought for David Miliband’s brother.
Ed Miliband, himself increasingly seen by forward-thinking Labour figures as a future leader, today finds himself unwittingly caught between two parties within a party, remaining at once loyal to Gordon Brown and naturally close to the Prime Minister’s main rival. Even in a Labour party gripped by feverish summer infighting and introspection, it doesn’t get much more complicated than that.
The Cabinet Office minister is said to share his brother’s view that the Tories need sharper scrutiny. But Mr Brown himself is believed increasingly to agree. In that sense, the younger brother is in a crucial position, acting as a link-man between the two rivals as John Prescott did between Mr Brown and Tony Blair. It was partly Ed's presence on the scene that held David back from standing against Mr Brown before his coronation last summer, despite huge pressure from some Blairites.
More than a year later, Ed Miliband apparently remains clear that Mr Brown should stay on. This afternoon, The Independent has learnt from the Brown camp that reports implying David’s move has somehow dragged Ed away from his boss’s circle are untrue.
Grateful insiders point out that Ed was one of the few in the Cabinet to publicly defend Mr Brown after last Thursday’s disastrous Glasgow East by-election defeat to the SNP last week, appearing on Newsnight on Friday. A Number 10 source said the minister “is and always will be trusted”.
The only way to beat the tories is by being patient. The probklem with thinking that all it needs is a closer analysis of the tories is that there is nothing to analyse like any sharp smart sensible opposition they have no policies to analyse.
I do not see why they do not try charcter assination of the tory leader as the tories do with the labour leader.
Posted by: Earl of coolness | Thursday, 31 July 2008 at 08:59 PM
"The only way to beat the Tories is by being patient."
Yup. 20 years should be patient enough.
Posted by: atropos | Thursday, 31 July 2008 at 09:36 PM
It's the British Public that needs to give politicians "closer scrutiny" and the Miliband Bros. especially. Of course he is his brother's keeper--don't be a schmuck!
Posted by: Diogenes | Friday, 01 August 2008 at 06:20 AM
The Tories can hardly be accused of "character assassination"in attacking Brown who has shown no sign of character or personality in the last 20 years.
Posted by: peter robinson | Friday, 01 August 2008 at 01:34 PM
Another non-entity amongst a host of non-entities seen as possible leader. God help the UK because this lot can't and wont!
Posted by: flipped | Friday, 01 August 2008 at 04:18 PM
OOOOOOOOoooooooh dear, it looks like Miliband turns out to have been fibbing about US prisons on British territory again!
This time in Diego Garcia.
How very inconvenient for Miliband that this has come to the surface, eh?
I'm sure he didn't know. Oh dearie-me no!! ROFL!!!
Posted by: Neil McGowan | Friday, 01 August 2008 at 07:12 PM
Doesn't it kill you - the way the rebellious government members go on about Tory vacuity? One has never seen our leaders demonstrating such energy and devoting so much time to the country's affairs as they are now doing about preserving their jobs, new kitchens and all those plants for the Mrs. Until now, nothing except screw-ups, about turns, idiotic PR worded guff masquerading as speeches, and total ineptness. Which planet do these extraordinary beings come from? Planet Inept sounds about right. They can't even get an assassination right.
Posted by: john problem | Saturday, 02 August 2008 at 10:12 AM