In the weeks since the Labour conference in Manchester, it has been clear that James Purnell has overtaken David Miliband as the leading contender among the Primrose Hill Set. Even though he is considerably more Blairite than Miliband, Purnell is attracting a wider range of support across the party because of his ability to put the Blairite agenda into left-wing language. Indeed, I suspect that if Labour do lose the next election, the ensuing leadership contest will come down to Purnell and Jon Cruddas.
Purnell is now confident enough to indulge in a bit of tweaking of Gordon’s tale. As John Rentoul points out, Purnell wonderfully begins the final paragraph of his piece in today’s Indy with the line:
“Gordon Brown has proven that we truly are at our best when at our boldest.”
The cheek of this is that, as John observes, it is based on Blair’s famous quote from his 2002 conference speech that Brown rebutted with ‘best when we are Labour’ in 2003.
Britain’s best politics newsletters
You get two free articles each week when you sign up to The Spectator’s emails.
Already a subscriber? Log in
Comments
Join the debate for just £1 a month
Be part of the conversation with other Spectator readers by getting your first three months for £3.
UNLOCK ACCESS Just £1 a monthAlready a subscriber? Log in