Skipper

Being away for a week makes you realise how long a time it is in politics. I deliberately avoided any UK papers so as not to sully my holiday with any residue of the UK. However I finally got to read about the Labour leadership last Monday in the Daily Mail(cost, £3.50). This newspaper roundly condemned the new man as too leftwing, too naive and too much in the pockets of the unions. Also I read much about 'poor' David, the vanquished brother, with a suggestion Ed had been far too unfraternal in standing against his big brother as if the very contest somehow disqualified him from being taken seriously.

Personally I voted for Ed. This was not because I thought David incompetent, an untalented politician or too Blairite. My view of him has evolved over a number of years, ever since he was a junior schools minister when I began to listen carefully to the man Alastair Campbell called 'Brains'. He is certainly clever and was evidently a good Cabinet minister. I was impressed by his Guardian article in July 2008 which was widely seen as a sign he was 'available' as a replacement for the disastrous Gordon. However, he made a poor speech at the conference and his possible candidacy soon sunk from view. It was not forgotten however and he was soon seen as the next in line to someone who seemed incapable of making a correct political decision.

My real disappointmernt however arrived 4th June 2009 when Juames Purnell resigned and hoped other Cabinet members might follow suit to oust Brown. Miliband sat on his hands and displayed what I regarded as a hugely disappointing lack of political courage. By standing against his brother, Ed showed that crucial bit of bottle and maybe some of the ruthlessness a leader needs.

Now Ed is leader I tend to agree with Jonathan Freedland who argues that David allowed himself to be stereotyped as a kind of reviled 'Blairite' while Ed was able to pose as something of a left of centre visionary.
Maybe, also, he was too 'decent' to descend to Charlie Whelan's level but if so he proved he is maybe a little too politically inept to make it at the highest level.

Regarding Ed I'm a little worried that, in pursuit of union votes he has allowed himself to be too closely identified with their cause. David, who won electoral college majorities in both the MP and party members categories would have avoided the work his brother now has to undertake to neutralize an allegation which the rightwing have sought to assert as gospel. By Christmas we should be able to see if Ed truly has the stuff of which future prime ministers are made.