David Milliband

David has behaved with grace a dignity in defeat. He joins a long line of political heirs who failed to inherit. Halifax, Butler, Maudling, Healey, Heseltine, Clarke, Portillo. Sometimes history tells us party members or earlier kingmakers were right, sometimes not. We shall have to wait a while for the verdict between Ed and David.

For the moment this blog believes Ed was the right choice for Labour, which politically must shift left and come up with a new deal. The centrists and the New Labour survivors, together with a good many commentators will beg for the retention of the centre. This is pointless, because the centre is lost to a combination of left Tories and right Lib Dems, who together with reluctant followers in coalition have taken that ground. That is no longer where the opportunity for electoral breakthrough lies. It is notable that the Sun has a poll putting labour on 40% today. This is based on a perception the Ed is to the left.

David now has to choose to stay or go. He must go. If he stays we will be back to a Blair/ Brown soap. Maybe the brothers will be as one by their acolytes will not be and a whole media industry will be established to prize them apart, with the less scrupulous making up issues of discord. That will stop any prospect of a Labour government. The choice was for the one or the other. It was never for both.