Miliband retreats

“I do support Gordon Brown” squealed David Miliband on the Politics Show just now. In an interview which was markedly different in style and tone from his confident performances during the summer after the publication of his Guardian article, Miliband backed away from a challenge, explicitly arguing against a leadership contest. When Jon Sopel challenged him on the ambiguous language he had used on the Jeremy Vine show when he was sending ‘come and get me’ signals to the Labour party, Miliband retreated from his earlier position. Having run his colours up the flag pole over the summer, Miliband now seems to have lowered them.

Both stylistically and substantively this was a poor performance from Miliband. He waved his arms around far too much and he had a sour expression on his face whenever he was asked a tough question, making clear his irritation at having to face the media.