UK Post-Election Analysis

[Blair]

Complete bollocks about David Miliband, the only people who generally say they prefer him are Tories. It's the same as me saying that Michael Portillo should have been tory leader. If you want 5 points why David M sucks here it is...

1)Seen as much more of a soulless, vain career politician. Anyone remember his 2008 coup attempt that he pulled out of at the last minute. Many saw him as Blair's Crown Prince who treated 2010 much like HRC treated 2008. He assumed the party would bow down to him because he waited in 2008.

2)He was shamelessly new labour, and didn't have plans to tackle tuition fees, housing or inequality. For all Ed's faults he was a champion for students/disposed in society.

3)He would have voted for Syria Air Strikes in 2013, when over 80% of the public were flat out opposed. We didn't want, or need to attack Assad. Most likely would have lead to either ISIL gaining whole of syria or another standoff with Russia/Iran.

4)He had all the authoritarian New Labour stuff-ID cards, drug laws, 42 detention period, GITMO. It was the worst part of New Labour, and he stood by it all.

5)He lacked a heart. Ed, was by far the boldest, most daring leader of the opposition that we ever had. Standing up to Murdoch, voting against Syria, voting for a Palestinian state, opposing an EU referendum and cutting fees to 6,000. 

[Blair]

If David Milibrand, we would be having a discussion on how Labour choose the wrong brother.

No matter who had won, it would have been the "wrong" brother.

As I've said before it's a matter of personal judgement.

David Miliband is no Tony Blair for sure. Political geniuses like him don't come around very often but David had an aura of competence that Ed signally lacked which made him electable in the eyes of the public.

In my view the result of the Labour leadership election of 2010 is a strategic error of enormous importance because I don't see a realistic potential prime minister in the current contenders for the job.

His competence is largely a mixed bag-he was a good thinker (like Ed) but his constant differing from 2007-2010 about the leadership and his awful coup attempt in summer '08 showed he lacked the political skills. As I said above David may have looked like a PM in waiting but that didn't cover up his wooden detachment