Has Miliband just let the leadership cat out of the bag? The BBC are reporting an overheard conversation between him and his aides, in which he admitted toning down his speech today for fear of having “a Heseltine moment” – a reference to Michael Heseltine’s efforts to topple Margaret Thatcher.
Short of Miliband resigning and starting a leadership campaign, nothing could quite so emphatically confirm that he wants to usurp Gordon Brown. And, from this moment forth, his messages of support for the incumbent PM – which were dubious enough anyway – are pretty much meaningless. The question now is of whether this chance happening will force either Brown’s or Miliband’s hand. Can Brown keep Miliband as his Foreign Secretary any longer? Can Miliband continue to refrain from going public with his ambitions? One thing’s for sure: if either fails to act, they’ll be left looking terribly weak.
Politics has a habit of throwing up some delicious ironies, and this one’s up there with the best of them.
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