“Ed does not need to hold the broccoli”

A Thick of It style interlude from Ann Treneman’s interview (£) with Ed Miliband today:

“There is also a visit to something called a ‘communiversity’ where he is confronted with what, for a Miliband, is a scary sight: a bowl of fruit. ‘Us Milibands are funny about funny shaped fruit,’ he notes, plucking out an apple and avoiding the yellow peril that gave his brother the nickname Milibanana after he was pictured holding one and looking, well, a bit bananas. Later, on a trip to a community farm I feel on the brink of a major news scoop when someone tries to make Ed hold a broccoli. ‘Ed does not need to hold the broccoli,’ says his press handler as the green blob was extended. ‘I did a body swerve to avoid it,’ he says later, standing next to a lorry-load of spuds.”

More seriosuly, the full article gives you a decent sense of the strengths and weaknesses of MiliE. His staunch support for the unions and his less than subtle attacks on the Godfathers of New Labour (“I must be doing something right,” he says when criticisms from Blair, Mandelson and Campbell are brought up) do not suggest he is putting as much effort into constructing a broad consensus as David Miliband is. But, then, as Team Ed would have it, he does come across as more “human” than his brother.