Whatever happened to Peter Mandelson’s regard for Ed Miliband? A year-and-a-half ago,
the Ennobled One was thought to have marked out
MiliE as a future Labour leader. But, today, he pulls out the verbal chainsaw and sets about tearing him down. The younger Miliband, Mandelson implies in an interview with the Times (£), would lead Labour into an “electoral cul-de-sac,” because, “to suggest that
we should be concentrating on our core current voters … is by way of saying that we want to remain a minority party.” And, just in case we didn’t get the message, he adds: “we’re
not looking for a preacher as our leader.” Although Mandelson doesn’t say as much, it all adds up to an endorsement for the other Miliband brother.
As Tim Montgomerie suggests over at ConservativeHome, the support of Peter Mandelson is a mixed blessing, just as his opposition is a mixed curse.
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