Ed Miliband's decision to enter the Labour leadership race, pitting himself against his older brother David, is a bold move. He risks alienating the Party by providing the media with a Cain-and-Abel storyline which will play into the hands of Labour's enemies. "Look," they'll be able to say. "While we have put aside our differences in the interests of providing Britain with strong government at a time of national crisis, Labour has descended into fratricidal civil war."
On the other hand, it's easy to see why he did it. If Labour was squaring off against a minority Conservative government, with another general election looming within 18 months, he might have kept his powder dry. In the absence of a credible challenger on the left of the Party, brother David would be a shoo in for the leadership and he might well have lost that election. After David's resignation, Ed could then make a bid for the top job. Of course, he couldn't count on David losing, but had Labour been facing the prospect of an imminent election Ed's youth would have told against him in a stand-off with his older brother. He's only 40, whereas David is 44. (To read more, click here.)
