The author of a rather brilliant little book about football could just hold the key to Labour’s otherwise negligible prospects in next year’s election. Jim Murphy is the last of the devout Blairites left on the scene, following the fratricidal killing of David Miliband, the departure of James Purnell to big bucks at the BBC, and the decision of the head of the church himself to spend more time with his mansions. After 2010, the Ed Miliband team reshuffled him out to international development.
Murphy is direct, angry, utterly undeferential and passionate about everything he does. Remember him doggedly campaigning to keep the Union during the Scottish referendum, lugging his Irn-Bru crate around while assorted saltire-wielding headcases in fright wigs lobbed eggs and worse at him?
So a brave and passionate soul, who carries the traditional Scottish air of menace. He has just come under vicious fire from the Labour nutjob Tom Watson. Watson is furious that Murphy is standing for leadership of the Scottish Labour party. In truth, victory for Murphy on 13 December — which could mean Labour hanging on to more than a handful of seats north of the border — will be crucial if Ed Miliband is to scrape over the line next year. Then you hope he will be buying a shelf-load of copies of Murphy’s fabulous and funny book, The 10 Football Matches That Changed the World… and the One That Didn’t (Biteback Publishing).
Murphy is also an extremely good footballer himself, a strong midfielder. Opponents who have lived to tell the tale talk in hushed tones of his fierce tackling and uncompromising commitment. In the annual match between Labour and the press, you could normally rely on Murphy to have a big bust-up with someone, usually a Scottish hack if he could organise it.
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