‘Directionless and drifting’ Ed Miliband ‘regrets nothing’

Seasoned Miliband observers learned relatively little about the Labour leader from his appearance on Radio Four’s ‘Desert Island Disks’ on Sunday. The programme addressed Ed’s biggest weaknesses head on – namely that he is a bit of a nerd who knifed his brother and comes from aristocratic Marxist stock.

The music told its own story. David Miliband has fled across the Atlantic; but Édith Piaf has told Ed that he should regret nothing. A-ha’s ‘Take on Me’, coupled with tales of never pulling down at the disco, played up to Ed’s nerdiness. ‘Jerusalem’ was included to mark his ‘lodestar’ father Ralph; a man who ‘loved this country’ seemed a little meretricious though. That naughty Mr Dacre might have been able to decipher a subtler message from Miliband’s choice of Parry and Blake.

Mr S’s favourite moment was when Miliband chose ‘Change of Time’ a catchy guitar number. The lyrics by American songwriter Josh Ritter speak for themselves:

‘I had a dream last night
I dreamt that I was swimming
Directionless and drifting
Somewhere in the dark’ 

Expect ‘directionless and drifting’ to come up at PMQs next week.