Miliband far from Shermanesque in his denials
James Forsyth 3:31pm
David Miliband was on Adam Boulton’s show today and described reports that he is manoeuvring for the leadership as ‘fiction’. But his denial of interest in challenging Brown left him plenty of wriggle room :
If Miliband really wants to show that he is not signalling to Labour MPs that he would step in if other people would do the dirty work of getting rid of Brown then he needs to issue a Shermanesque statement."I am not in the market for any job other than the one I have at the moment.”
Sherman, a Union Civil War General, denied all interest in running for president in1884 with the statement "If drafted, I will not run; if nominated, I will not accept; if elected, I will not serve." As long as Miliband avoids being this clear about his intentions, the rumours will continue to swirl.
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Comments
Mr Eugenides
May 25th, 2008 5:51pmWell, yes, but remember what Alex Salmond said in June 2004 when it was suggested he might take a second crack at the SNP leadership: "If nominated I'll decline. If drafted I'll defer. And if elected I'll resign".
Didn't stop him, did it?...
dexey
May 25th, 2008 6:11pmThere is an s missing there.
Jack R
May 25th, 2008 7:08pmAlthough the Tory Party may want Brown to stay until the General Election, I think that Mr. David Miliband would make a wonderfully unpopular substitute for Brown.
I associate Miliband with such politically unpopular positions as:
1.)support for EU supremacy over national sovereignty;
2.)rejection of UK Referendum on Lisbon;
3.)support for mass immigration;
4.)support for early entry into EU of 75m. Muslim Turks;
5.)support for Islamic states bordering the EU to become members;
6.) on a personal level, I think he is intellectually arrogant, and is not intuitively democratic.
Pete
May 25th, 2008 7:15pmI think Milliband will be 'invited' to be Deputy Leader with Prescott brought back in to 'mediate' between the Old and New Labour factions.
Brown then promises to hand over to Milliband after the next election.
Labour is saved and there will be peace in the ranks!
Perry
May 25th, 2008 7:26pm[OT]
And on matters martial, I guess we’ve picked up on the news that Des ‘First In, Last Out’ Browne ‘misled’ MPs on Nimrod spy plane safety?
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/politics/article3998966.ece
Paul Williams
May 25th, 2008 7:58pmInteresting Alan Johnson's statement too this morning: "absolutely no appetite within the party to change the leader".
Of course there's no appetite (read enthusiasm) to change the leader - I'm sure Labour MP's realise the implications of doing so, but it doesn't mean that it won't be done as the least worst option.
Rather like when I'm ill with flu, I don't have an appetite for food, but I still eat because it's necessary.
Water
May 25th, 2008 8:25pmAny statement of Shermanesque form from our foreign secretary seems most unlikely. Miliband supports Brown and he made that clear on the Boulton show.
Nicholas
May 25th, 2008 9:08pmJack R : "on a personal level, I think he is intellectually arrogant, and is not intuitively democratic."
True for most of them, although I'm by no means convinced about the intellectual bit. Many of the cabinet are remarkable for their complete lack of intellect which is pretty much balanced by their complete lack of common sense too.
That leaves arrogant and undemocratic which about sums up New Labour for me.
Scptic
May 25th, 2008 9:49pmWhen Alex Salmond was asked in 2005 if he'd run for SNP leader again he gave a textbook Sherman denial. Politicians lie. Doesnt matter what Miliband says.
Water
May 25th, 2008 10:20pmOh of course but we have to go with what is said, though there is always the possibility that he’s lying, this is irrefutable. It’s safe to say all Labour party members are watching their own backs. Though to quote Orwell “Political language is designed to make lies sound truthful and murder respectable”.
RW
May 26th, 2008 8:17amWhat is striking about all this hypocritical Miliband stuff is the casual superiority and sense of entitlement, the unspoken elitism, the assumption of having the Gods on his side, of being by birth and breeding and position automatically the right man to "save" New Labour. Aren't these just the supposed "toff" attributes at which Labour were so recently poking cheap fun?
If he does instigate a leadership contest and wins it'll do him little good. The pressure to hold an early General Election would be irresistible and Labour would lose, although probably not by as much as if they were still hamstrung by Jonah Brown. And then where would geeky little Milipede be? politically hardly out of short trousers and still smarting from memories of nappy rash, in the wilderness of opposition, and *already* tagged as a loser.
The Laughing Cavalier
May 26th, 2008 12:00pmAre we really being asked to believe that Britain's salvation lies with yet another man lacking the courage to knife his leader in the back?
Water
May 26th, 2008 12:58pm"Are we really being asked to believe that Britain's salvation lies with yet another man lacking the courage to knife his leader in the back?" there's no question of that now as he has out rightly refused any such challenge.
The Laughing Cavalier
May 26th, 2008 5:45pmIn other words, he lacked the courage to wield the knife.