Only Ed Miliband would want to live next to an electricity pylon

Some find happiness through love, some through religion, others through their work or hobbies. But Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has recently revealed that he would be happy living next to a pylon. Following Ken Livingstone’s interest in newts and Jeremy Corbyn’s obsession with manhole covers, it seems prominent Labour politicians are constantly surprising us with their interests. But for Miliband there is just one snag. Near his home in Camden Borough, London, there are – no doubt to Ed’s dismay – remarkably few electricity pylons to keep him happy.

Miliband – that one-time public mauler of breakfast baps – is, it seems, in a minority with this peculiar passion. In a recent poll published by the Times, 80 per cent of respondents said they rather doubted they would be happy living next to such a monstrosity. In fact, an extensive pylon-building scheme devised under the Tories – and now pushed hard by Labour – is raising hackles across the country.