There are some things in life that are inevitable: the sun rising in the east, the bus always being late and Labour centrists suggesting David Miliband is the saviour of British politics.
Today Rachel Sylvester has delivered on the latter. Writing in the Times, Sylvester suggests that the answer to the lack of centre in British politics at the moment is… the Miliband rejected in the 2010 leadership contest. The former Labour MP – who is now stationed in New York – would supposedly be just right to lead a ‘socially and economically liberal’ party:
‘Imagine if David Miliband announced that he was returning to Britain to set up a new party. It would be socially and economically liberal, internationalist and domestically reforming, including of capitalism. Opposing Brexit would be part of its agenda, but not its whole identity. The movement would quickly gain traction. The Lib Dems would almost certainly fold into it. Sir Nick Clegg says “I’m a Lib Dem but it’s not the be all and end all”, and I am told that Sir Vince feels the same. “It’s the values not the vehicle that matter,” says one Lib Dem strategist.’
What’s more, Brits could be in luck! Friends of Miliband tell the Times that he still ‘attracted’ to Britain:
‘“David is still attracted to Britain,” says one friend. “He feels frustrated that the Labour Party is as lamentably led as it is and frustrated that he is in America. It’s possible he could come back.” Although he has always insisted that Labour is his tribe and he would never leave it, the truth is that it has abandoned him. His mother survived the Holocaust; how can he any longer align himself with a party that turns a blind eye to its deniers?’
Alas Mr S worries that Miliband’s £425,000 a year job as the chair of the refugee charity International Rescue may mean he is still more ‘attracted’ to the US…
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