Sibling Rivalry On The Run
“If you run, I’m telling mum!”
Yes the Miliband’s are grown men, both with the ambition to become leader of the country, but when it comes to sibling rivalry, immaturity completely ignores bounds. Brothers compete, for affection, for reward and for pride, and short of their parents being forced into making some kind of ‘Sophie’s Choice’ decision on TV (a format I pray we never see), a National election was the ultimate competition Edward and David could face. Ed won, even though the result led to him wearing look of terror that brought to mind the first time I saw the Exorcist as an eleven year old, and David lost, offering his brother hug that seemed genuinely warm followed by a peculiarly aggressive head squeeze.
“I’m older, you’ll do what I say!”
David was born first and David rose to prominence first, he likely could have been party leader two years ago if he was brave enough to challenge Gordon, but he sat back playing a safe game. Much like the Hare, who took a nap under the tree, David waited in the shade, he, and assuredly his advisors, thought the keys to Labour Party HQ were waiting for them. They assumed that whoever led the party into the 2010 election would be finished and he banked on the lack of depth at the top of the party, with Alan Johnson disinterested and Darling, despite his excellent Ministerial work, unelectable. He was right about the absence of challengers amongst his immediate contemporaries, he was endorsed by all and sundry while the likes of Harman and Balls gained little traction given how the party faithful were acutely aware of the way they were perceived by the general public, but he was either wrong, or subconsciously dismissive, about his brother.
“Why does he get to go first!”
It is very likely that Ed, or someone close to him, realised that if he wanted to be the Labour leader, this contest was his only realistic shot. As a 40 year old he could still have a long political career ahead of him, but he saw his window of opportunity closing faster than the doors on the last tube home you just missed. If he did not run, David would have had the job sewn up. If David won, then Ed would not be a viable candidate in another Leadership Election for at least decade, if ever, as the odds of the Labour Party voting for the brother of the man who lost them a general election, even if he had already served a full term, were about as strong as the Irish economy. He had to act, and he did.
“It’s not fair, it was mine!”
Even though there was a relatively late swing to the younger Miliband, once Ed put his hat in the ring the outcome had an air of inevitability. It is very possible that David never considered the possibility that Ed would run, particularly against him, and if he did, then it was a serious miscalculation. David failed to shake his association to the previous governments, both as a key Blairite advisor and as a prominent member of Gordon’s cabinet, ironically it was Ed who was the staunch Brown man, while he also failed to connect with the core of the party. It is easy to wave the ‘charisma’ flag, but there is some truth to it as he was clearly seen, whether accurately as the more uptight of the two. He was David, the serious one with the Action Man hair, while Ed was the cheery wonk who brought to mind Michael McIntyre. The result might have been different their parents had named them Dave and Edward (or Karl), and snap judgements about character were less easily made, but it was not to be.
“He hit me!”
That is not to say the outcome was purely a failure on David’s part. His team dealt with the controllables very well, it is only that Ed ran a very good race. The ‘Red Ed’ charges were dealt with efficiently, he artfully attributed previous governmental failings to his brother and Ed Balls even though he was not the real outsider candidate, and he successfully appeased the different factions who make up the core of Labour’s support. The initial criticism levied is that he will be beholden to the Unions who provided a foundation for his victory, but that ignores the fact he did actually hit out at them by indicating towards a need for structural change and acknowledging that some spending cuts were necessary and would be supported. He will obviously need Union support, particularly to keep financial contributions coming, but he will not be any more indebted to them than any Labour leader who has to contest with a strong Tory party.
“I’m not talking to him anymore!”
The fallout from the Miliband battle was primarily a metaphysical one, I’ve had fights with my brother where actual blood was shed, here there will be scars but for the most part they will be concealable. It is a shame that David had to bow out of front-line politics, the gut reaction was that he took his ball home in a response that was tantalisingly childish yet entirely apposite given how brothers act around one another. However it was not that simple, David would indeed have been a thorn in the side of his brother, the disagreements that arose in the contest were not going to disappear, they were going to widen as some reporters dug their claws in like particularly irritating and poorly groomed housecats. The problem is that David will not be able to avoid the spotlight, he will be questioned about policy decisions everywhere he goes and every vote will be highlighted.
“He’s my brother.”
There will surely come a time in the next couple of years when David will be back in frontline politics, bar a particularly bloody coup, that will be in his brother’s cabinet, and he will be needed as he is an impressive and well traveled politician. At that time Ed and David will have to pursue a show of solidarity that lasts, not least because they are now the most prominent Labour politicians not named Balls.