Pastures new for David Miliband?

David Miliband’s logic is difficult to fault. If he stayed, he would be treated as the torch bearer for those disgruntled Labour members who feel they were robbed. Without him, such people have no one to turn to. New Labour will now dissolve. ‘Progress’ – supposedly for the next generation of Blairites – held their meeting in a Manchester venue named the Comedy Store and that says it all. Game over: as Neil Kinnock put it last night “I’ve got my party back”.  

No matter how loyal he would be, David Miliband could not but be seen as a focal point for the (many) Labour MPs who hate all that. Sure, it is a bit odd his saying on Monday “the fightback starts here” and on Wednesday “well, good luck with it guys – I’m offski”. But it’s better than the alternative. A man who was Foreign Secretary for three years was never going to stay on as his little brother’s spokesman for digital inclusion.