For the Kremlinologists among us, Andrew Grice has an insightful article in today’s Independent on the growing support for Ed Miliband in the Labour Party. He kicks it off by asking the pivotal question when it comes to the Brothers Miliband – “Will Ed Miliband eclipse brother David?” – and follows that up with some affirmative evidence:
“…the word in Labour circles is that Ed is no longer trailing in his brother’s wake. Indeed, some senior figures believe he has already overtaken him in the game that increasingly occupies Labour minds as the party appears to head for a general election defeat – its future leadership stakes…
…friends are quietly telling [Ed] that David will not be leader because he is seen as too Blairite. In contrast, Ed Miliband is seen as on the party’s soft left, and could be in a strong position to capitalise on a reaction against New Labour that would probably follow an election defeat. Nor is he seen as too close to Mr Brown.
‘Whether he likes it or not, people are buying shares in him,’ one friend of Ed Miliband said yesterday. ‘And they are selling them in David.'”
It’s difficult to avoid the growing chatter about Ed Miliband in Westminster; his star is certainly rising in Labour circles. But, myself, I’m inclined towards the view expressed at the end of Grice’s article: that it’s “premature” to write-off David Miliband’s Labour leadership hopes just yet. Perplexingly – and even after his abortive coup last summer, and all the embarrassments since – the Foreign Secretary seems to have a much bigger core of support than many people account for.
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