The contest to succeed Gordon Brown as the next Labour leader heated up today when Ed Miliband announced he would stand against his older brother David. This leaves me with a bit of a dilemma over which man would be a better leader?
David has the edge over Ed when it comes to experience, having been a Member of Parliament for four more years and holding the high profile job of Foreign Secretary over the last three years. However, David is perhaps a more divisive figure in the party; described by some as a "heir to Blair", he is unlikely to win the support of Labour's affiliated trade unions, who make up a third of the electoral college which decides the party leader.
Ed is seen by many as a Brownite candidate after he rose quickly through the ministerial ranks due to a close working relationship with the former Prime Minister. However, he is also popular with grassroots Labour activists and may have been persuaded to stand against his brother by party members on twitter and websites such as Labour List.
Another man expected to stand is Gordon's loyal lieutenant Ed Balls, who will probably be the firm favorite with the unions thanks to his friendship with Unite Political Director and fellow Brownite Charlie Whelan. However, it is a well known fact that Balls was not a much loved figure in the Cabinet, so his union support may be cancelled out by the Parliamentary Labour Party vote.
Its early days yet and while at the moment Ed Miliband has my support that may change in the coming weeks. All I can predict at this stage is that the next leader of the Labour party will have either the first name Ed or the surname Miliband. Or perhaps both...
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