The ballot has opened and the Mirror has joined the mounting chorus in favour of David Miliband. They say of Miliband:
‘We believe he has the intellect, talent and experience to take on the Tories – and eventually become PM.’
Their timing is odd, given that Fleet Street and Westminster are currently captivated by Tony Blair’s memoir. But it is also a neat coincidence that Blair’s journey ends on the day that his apparent heir’s begins. As Tim Montgomerie notes in today’s Times (£), the Tories fear David Miliband because he is the only Labour leadership candidate who asks: ‘What would Tony do?’
It goes deeper than that. Tony Blair was more tolerated than loved by the party he returned to power, and as Ed Howker surmises the feeling was mutual. In contrast, Miliband has built a plural coalition within the Labour party. He has James Purnell on the right and Jon Cruddas on the left and 11 shadow cabinet members behind
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