the 2015 leadership campaign begins

That shirt would go well with a banana.

So he's stepping down from the frontline. But he's not leaving; he was surprisingly eager to make it clear he's staying on as an MP. This didn't sound - to me - like a man who has his sights set on a job at the IMF or in Brussels. I think he's still focused on the only game he's ever known: British politics. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he's already thinking about taking another crack at this, after his brother loses an election.

Now, of course, that may change; he doesn't know how he's going to feel in a year's time. But here's the thing: the soap opera ain't over; it's just had a plot twist. From now on, Miliband, D will be the prince across the water, the spectre at the feast, the palely loitering knight-at-arms (excuse me, I'm getting carried away here). On every controversial issue facing the party and its leader, his views will be sought out, his every statement parsed for subtext, and without the screen of collective responsibility, he'll be a little freer to speak his mind.

And when there are twelve months to go before the election, and the Labour Party is seven points behind, there will be a growing clamour for the younger brother to make way for the man whom all will agree should have been king (And I bet you Polly Toynbee leads the charge). He'll demur, of course. And wait.

Comments

[peter]

Perhaps Milliband Inf. gave Milliband Sup. an ultimatum: Either that shirt goes or you must!

[David]

Being the prince across the water didn't work out so well for the third brother - Alan Milliburn