Ed Miliband tries to detoxify his brand

The scrubbing job starts in earnest this morning, as Ed Miliband tries to erase that “Red” epithet from before his name. Exhibit A was his appearance on the Andrew Marr show, in which he took every opportunity to cast the manner of his victory in a favourable light. “If you look at this as one vote-one member, then I got more votes than anyone else,” he assured us, before going on to say that he won the union vote because, “I spoke about things that matter to working people in this country.” When asked whether he would sway under pressure from the union leadership, he averred, “I’m nobody’s man, I’m my own man – and I’m very, very clear about that.” And as a final flourish, “I’m certainly not Bob Crow’s man.”

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As for the actual substance of the interview, Miliband struck an ambiguous tone.