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The Rightful Brother
A History of the Labour Party (2010-present)

Prologue (September 2010)


David and Ed Miliband embracing on the stage after the announcement that David has won over Ed in the final round of the Labour leadership election, 25th September 2010

"Friends,

Thank you for placing your trust in me to lead this great party, this great movement, as we begin the fight against the policies and values of this Coalition government and as we begin the fight to convince the country as a whole that the beliefs, principles and values of the Labour Party are the ones that we need back in government. It is a great honour to be chosen to lead an institution so great as the Labour Party, and an even greater honour to be entrusted with the vital task of restoring our principles to power. "


- Opening Excerpt of the speech given by David Miliband upon his election as Leader of the Labour Party, 25th September 2010

"David Miliband had been widely considered as the natural successor to Gordon Brown since at least 2007 in some arguments. He was young, relatively charismatic, and had senior experience from his time as Foreign Secretary. He also represented a bright future for the Blairite wing of the party who had endured three gruelling years of Gordon Brown. Lastly, but not least, David Miliband was the candidate seen as being most likely to best the newly elected David Cameron on leadership abilities and the most likely to return Labour to power.

With such an advantage in perception terms, in tandem with a significant advantage amongst the PLP and general membership, it was a surprise at how narrow Miliband's victory actually was. In the end, he prevailed over his brother, Ed Miliband, by 53.33% to 46.67%, a margin of 6.6% of the vote, the narrowest margin of victory for any Labour leader since Foot in 1980. Despite his significant advantages in terms of the PLP and general membership, I'd wager that David Miliband very nearly lost the Labour leadership, and the only reason he won it was not due to his own strategy, but rather those of Ed Balls.

The former Schools Secretary had waged an effective courting campaign of union bosses since the start of June, wary of the appeal that Ed Miliband would have towards them and their members. The process was difficult and brutally contested between the camps of the two Eds, but with the efforts of a union relations team in the Balls campaign led by Charlie Whelan, a close ally and influential union figure, Balls was able to secure the endorsements of the Unison and Unite leaderships. Whilst this was enough to secure Balls a healthy lead on affiliated member votes until his elimination in the fourth round, the weakness of his campaign amongst the PLP and general membership compared to Ed Miliband, ensured that Balls finished third, as opposed to being in the final runoff.

Whilst initially it would have been assumed that the bulk of the affiliated members vote would go to Ed Miliband in such a scenario, fewer than expected actually did and a surprising amount switched to David Miliband instead, likely due to a dislike between the two Eds that emerged during the union negotiations which spurred the Balls campaign to advocate David Miliband as a second preference. The end result was that Ed Miliband was locked out of the Labour Leadership. Indeed, whilst this question at present may only be pondered by scholars of politics, it is likely in my view that had Balls not done so well in negotiations with the unions and animosity between his camp and that of Ed Miliband not been so high, the end result would have seen more affiliate member votes go to Ed Miliband, enabling him to score a narrow victory over his brother. It's a topic still hotly debated amongst Labour figures, but now it's a mere casual conversation as opposed to a serious debate."


- From New Labour Mark II? The Rise of David Miliband by Andrew Rawnsley, 2011

@bbcnews Breaking: David Miliband elected as Labour Leader by 53.3% in fourth round over 46.7% for closest rival Ed Miliband

- From the BBC News Twitter account on September 25th 2010

"For fuck's sake, we're stuck with that arrogant fucking cock for the next five years"

- Quote attributed to an anonymous Labour MP overheard an hour after the result was declared.

First Round
MPs/MEPs
Diane Abbott: 7 (0.86%)
Ed Balls: 42 (5.2%)
Andy Burnham: 24 (2.97%)
David Miliband: 111 (13.78%)
Ed Miliband: 82 (10.17%)
Labour Party members
Diane Abbott: 8,329 (2.21%)
Ed Balls: 21,403 (5.68%)
Andy Burnham: 10,743 (2.85%)
David Miliband: 55,932 (14.85%)
Ed Miliband: 27,837 (7.39%)
Affiliated Members
Diane Abbott: 24,392 (3.86%)
Ed Balls: 61,382 (9.71%)
Andy Burnham: 17,896 (2.83%)
David Miliband: 47,403 (7.50%)
Ed Miliband: 57,271 (9.06%)
Total
Diane Abbott: 6.93%
Ed Balls: 20.59%
Andy Burnham: 8.65%
David Miliband: 36.13%
Ed Miliband: 26.62%
Diane Abbott eliminated

Second Round
MPs/MEPs
Ed Balls: 42 (5.20%)
Andy Burnham: 28 (3.47%)
David Miliband: 111 (13.76%)
Ed Miliband: 85 (10.54%)
Labour Party members
Ed Balls: 23,493 (6.32%)
Andy Burnham: 13,092 (3.52%)
David Miliband: 56,002 (15.07%)
Ed Miliband: 29,984 (8.07%)
Affiliated Members
Ed Balls: 71,894 (11.68%)
Andy Burnham: 19,007 (3.08%)
David Miliband: 49,220 (7.99%)
Ed Miliband: 62,932 (10.19%)
Total
Ed Balls: 23.18%
Andy Burnham: 10.06%
David Miliband: 36.79%
Ed Miliband: 28.78%
Andy Burnham eliminated

Third Round
MPs/MEPs
Ed Balls: 45 (5.58%)
David Miliband: 126 (15.62%)
Ed Miliband: 95 (11.78%)
Labour Party members
Ed Balls: 28,655 (7.77%)
David Miliband: 60,804 (16.49%)
Ed Miliband: 32,172 (8.72%)
Affiliated Members
Ed Balls: 81,562 (13.28%)
David Miliband: 54,765 (8.92%)
Ed Miliband: 66,203 (10.57%)
Total
Ed Balls: 26.63%
David Miliband: 41.03%
Ed Miliband: 31.07%
Ed Balls eliminated

Fourth Round
MPs/MEPs
David Miliband: 148 (18.35%)
Ed Miliband: 118 (14.63%)
Labour Party members
David Miliband: 68,921 (20.78%)
Ed Miliband: 40,479 (12.21%)
Affiliated Members
David Miliband: 85,304 (14.20%)
Ed Miliband: 112,764 (18.78%)
Total
David Miliband: 53.33%
Ed Miliband: 46.67%
David Miliband elected as Leader of the Labour Party
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