David Miliband is quitting

[IUsedToBeFab]

I think he is right tbh.

I turned the Today interview off part way through, because it was crap. If Miliband Minor (Miliband Major was apparently known in the FCO as the evil of two lessers: I wonder what they think of Ed) is that bad when being tossed soft ones by Sarah Montague, God help him when Humphries or Paxman have a go.

I knew David a long time ago. He is a very good and worthy person.

Ed has a lot to live up to and I'm not sure he'll be able to.

Quattrocentro is right I keep wanting to yell "Blow your nose" at the radio whe he is on.

Was listening to the radio this afternoon and someone from Ed's constituency and a Labour voter was saying how could they trust him when he wasn't even loyal to his own brother.

I kind of understood what she meant.

Ed assured us on r4 that he puts his family first.

Watching David on the 10 O'Clock made me think that if I were eighteen, an English undergraduate at a concrete university and looking for some agit-prop to secure my reputation as the happening student of my year, I'd be finding a copy of "Richard III" to hack about a bit...

Ed comes across as smug,insincere and patronising. When you are championed by the smug, politically unsuccessful Neil Kinnock you've got to fear for the future of the Labour party. David was head and shoulders above Ed and Labour have shot themselves in the foot again.

Ed Balls can't wipe the smile of his face now David won't be shadow Chancellor. Did anyone see him on the news saying how it would have been better if David had made his decision public on Sunday? The winner of the most slappable face on the TV - now joined by Ed Miliband.

Paxman is currently quizzing Ed on how Jewish he is. Later, the Newnight production team are going to go and smash some windows to see if they sound like crystal.

Too right, extremely.

He just comes across as a smug, Machievellian sneak with a dagger firmly clenched in his hand behind his back.

Adenoidal Ed will ensure the Labour Party is unelectable for a generation

Agree Quattro

Ed reminds me of a gnome, at least David is easy on the eye. I feel I had to mention that to even things up because if the candidates had been women then their looks would certainly have been commented on!

Agree Riven.

However I have to say I really wasnt impressed with Ed's speech on Tuesday - it was very debating society rather than real politics IMO.

I do think that it would have been impossible for Ed to have David serving underneath him, mainly because the media would contantly be looking for tension - very much like the Blair/Brown issue but worse. It was very damaging for Brown and I think it would be even worse for Ed.

I also think David did it in the hope that if Ed makes a balls up, he can come back and save the day.

I used to like Blair [runs for the hills]

I'll have to watch Newsnight on iplayer.

I'm not impressed with his speeches. And with the machinations he used. Or with his running against his own brother, whom he'd talked out of running for leadership a few years back when D and his wife were adopting again, convincing him being leader of the party would take him away from his family too much.

Now he goes and does the same thing himself.

He's a snake in the grass.

He's not got the X factor, he has the Z factor, as in zzzzzzzz . . . .

The Labour party is dividing. The left on one side, the centre on the other.

The left, lead by Ed, are going to win and realign the party where it was pre 1997.
I think Ed is a sincere bloke and feels that this is the right thing to do.

David, however, has always been very honest that he doesn't want to be part of that.

So here we are. The Labour party goes back to its roots. Reconnects with the unions. And becomes unelectable for at least another term.

Sigh...

We'll se what Ed actually proposes to do. So far we have only seen words.

Is it true expat that Ed talked David out of running for the leadership a few years back? I guess you could say that it was still up to David to make up his own mind but it's still pretty poor form on Ed's part. Just reinforces the impression you get that you can't trust him.

I still like Ed but it's my guess this is a holding position: realign the Labour party to represent an actual philosophy (as opposed to occupying bang centre ground with the others) adn then shuffle him off in favour of a leader with a bit more charisma, who wants to represent a aparty that has got itselgf rebalanced.

Nobody wants to be the heir to New LAbour; being heir to miliband might be OK.