James Forsyth James Forsyth

Politics: From Red Ed to Steady Eddie

Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband are locked in a political duel, and only one of them can survive.

issue 08 January 2011

Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband are locked in a political duel, and only one of them can survive.

Nick Clegg and Ed Miliband are locked in a political duel, and only one of them can survive. In the new politics, what helps Clegg hurts Miliband and vice versa. This unusual dynamic makes next week’s by-election in Oldham East and Saddleworth especially important: it is, in effect, the first electoral clash between the two men. The result will determine which leader spends the first part of the year fending off questions about their future.

It is coalition politics that has created this clash between Miliband and Clegg. During the Labour leadership contest, Miliband declared that he couldn’t imagine doing a deal with the Lib Dems after the next election if Clegg were still their leader. Certainly, it is nigh-on impossible to imagine Clegg moving from being Cameron’s deputy to Miliband’s. This means that a Clegg-led Lib Dem party will, whatever is said publicly, always side with the Tories in the event of a hung parliament.

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