Ed Miliband seized the leadership of Britain’s opposition Labour Party on Saturday night in a dramatic, knife-edge victory that left his elder brother David’s political dreams in tatters.
The younger Miliband, who ran a left-leaning campaign and emerged as favorite only in the final 24 hours, declared himself proud and elated as he pledged to reunite the party and put it back on the road to power. However, his victory was not without controversy as he won by the narrowest of margins — 50.65 percent of the vote to 49.35 percent for his brother — and thanks in large part to a strong vote from the unions. David received stronger backing from members of parliament (MP) as well as members of the European parliament and from party members.
British MPs who supported David Miliband warned last night that Ed’s reliance on the union vote was a “disaster” for the party — leaving it open to charges that its leader would be in the pocket of its left-wing paymasters and wide open to attack from the Tories and right-wing elements in the media.
Amid emotional scenes, the two brothers, whose battle had at times become fraught and bitter, hugged after the result was finally called in Ed’s favor. It followed 10 nail-biting minutes during which details of the votes were read out in stages with no single candidate reaching the required 50 percent until the fourth and final round, when Ed Miliband was finally declared the winner.
The Ed Miliband camp erupted with joy as David, who smiled and applauded warmly, was left to contemplate how his lifelong ambition to lead his party and enter No. 10 Downing St as prime minister had been thwarted by his younger brother.
Struggling to maintain his composure, Ed, the 40-year-old former British energy secretary, made a short, dignified acceptance speech in which he heaped praise on David and the other defeated candidates — Ed Balls, Andy Burnham and Diane Abbott. To David he expressed his “extraordinary respect,” praising him for the campaign he led.
He said he had not imagined “in my wildest dreams” that he would lead the party when he joined at age 17 and pledged to fight for a “more prosperous, more equal, more fair society” as Labour seeks a route back to government.
“Today,” he declared, “the work of a new generation begins.”
Most of the younger Miliband’s campaign message had been directed toward those on the left of the party, declaring New Labour to be “dead” and attacking the drift to what he described as “brutish US-style capitalism.”
David Miliband, who for years had been seen as a natural successor to former British prime minister Tony Blair, stuck resolutely to a position more on the center ground, refusing to abandon the New Labour approach of appealing to both middle-class and core Labour voters.
“We’ve never seen anything quite like what we’ve had, with two brothers neck and neck. These are brothers. They’re blood brothers. They can’t afford to fall out in the way we had with Tony and Gordon [Brown] and neither can we,” former British home secretary David Blunkett said.
“If the election had been at the end of July, I think David would have won. That takes courage and it takes tenacity,” he added.
Unions welcomed the outcome. Tony Woodley of Unite said that Ed Miliband’s victory, “coming from nowhere a few months ago, is a clear sign that the party wants change.”
Abbott, the candidate of the hard left, was the first to drop out of the contest, followed by Burnham and Balls.
“This election has been good for the Labour Party — it has been conducted in a constructive spirit and thousands of members have been able to take an active part of the debate,” Burnham said.
Attention will now turn to the leader’s speech to the party conference tomorrow. The shadow Cabinet will then be announced in two weeks. Top jobs are certain to be given to David, if he agrees to serve, and Balls, currently the shadow schools secretary.
As he left his London home to travel to Manchester for the declaration, David Miliband said speculation that his brother had won should be taken with “a very large skip of salt.” However, he also insisted he could work under Ed’s leadership, joking that they would enjoy “more than a pint” whatever the result.
He was glad their “poor mum” had got through the ordeal of her two sons fighting for the Labour crown.
“Well, I think that she’s survived so that’s good — as we all have,” he said.
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