So come on fess up, who else didnt realise there were 2 Millibands until last week?

[nighbynight]

My excuse is that I dont live in the UK, and I can never tell people apart anyway, they look identical to me.

yes it's possible. But I think all of the big figures will recommend Miliband. I think the press will probably join in as well. But you are right, he is unpopular, so he may not pull it off, but I think it is a near certainty. The press is very powerful. Do you remember how Cameron got elected? David Davis was ahead of him and more popular and Cameron was unknown. Then the press told us that Davis made a bad speech at the party conference, and constituency members started changing their minds. When you actually listened to Davis's speech, there was nothing wrong with it. I think David Miliband will get similar support from the press and other Labour Party bigwigs.

agree ShadeofViolet, Mandelson would be capable of tying the opposition up in knots. But he is unpopular. Also, as brogan2 said before, he is a Lord, so I think he can't stand.

Mandelson is awful, just a slightly older hack, thats all. Politics not policies.
Did you see when GB was giving his farewell speech to staff, and Sarah B was standing next to him - GB said thank you to Harriet Harman, and SB beamed and looked over at HH - then GB said thank you to Mandelson, and SB's face was expressionless. Then he thanked someone else, and she smiled again...

claig, I am not surprised by the use of the press, as you suggest. But disgusted that the sort of tricks that were played in student politics are being played out on the national stage. I suppose thats the difference, some of us grew up.

The election process is a bit weird. It's not one member, one vote. The unions get a big say, and so do the Parliamentary Labour Party.

yes you are right. Not many people like Mandelson, because of his tricks etc. But what impresses me about him is how clever he is, he made Andrew Marr look like a schoolboy and Paxman always comes off second best. He is a brilliant political operator who could make Cameron and Clegg look stupid. I don't think Labour have got anybody as effective as him in that sense. But he is also very unpopular which doesn't help. I think it was Blair who said that one day the Labour Party will grow to love Mandelson. It's probably still a long way off.

I though Andrew and Freddie Flintoff were brothers

Agree Ben Bradshaw is lovely reminds me of Hugh Grant !
Was disappointed that he has a partner though!

Milliband Brothers are both shite, career politicians, It would not worry me even if their father Adolph Milliband was elected the new Labour leader, as long as they were not in power again, and stayed in the political wilderness a very long time. On one positive note at least Gordon Brown appeared a 'conviction politician' unlike these pair of upstarts. Under the previous Government we are now fighting two wars, have huge debts, and the banks have bled us dry. How anyone can say anything remotely positive about the Labour party or the career politicians in it, is beyond me. Oh dear... . "thinks..." doesn't make much difference as I have lead ears and MN has personal attack policy.