Ed Miliband won’t say anything until after the Labour leadership contest is over

Why is Ed Miliband not intervening to stop Jeremy Corbyn? Some Labourites see the former leader’s silence on the issue as a dereliction of duty, and hope to increase the pressure on him to say something about the importance of not lurching further left. But sources have told Coffee House that he plans to say nothing at all until 12 September, when the new leader is announced. His spokesman says:

‘His view is that the precedent was set by Neil Kinnock and Gordon Brown. He thinks it is right that the debate about the new leaders should not involve the outgoing leaders. It is right that the candidates speak for themselves.’

Miliband is refusing all interview requests, and only once there is a new leader will he work out how he wants to be involved. There is of course the question of whether any of the interventions from the other former leaders have been helpful, or whether many of those they are trying to reason with are in fact offended and made more stubborn by people they consider either as failed leaders or the wrong sort of leaders telling them what to do.