Reactions: Ed Miliband leadership victory
Senior Labour figures are coming to terms with the news of today’s upset in Manchester. Here are their reactions, straight from the conference floor.
By Alex Stevenson
There are the professionals, of course, who will say the right thing whatever happens. Alistair Darling weathered a global financial crisis without flickering either of his curiously-coloured eyebrows. A shock leadership result is nothing by comparison.
“He’ll have all our support in everything he does to make sure we harry this government where necessary, but above all we set out a convincing programme to win people’s support for the next election,” he said, the picture of placidity.
David Miliband’s backers are displaying mixed levels of emotional control. “I think he will be disappointed,” said Phil Woolas, who stood on the steps outside parliament as David Miliband launched his campaign.
“Ed has managed to run a campaign that says look, we’ve got to put the past behind us,” he explained.
“I think unfairly – but politics is not a fair game – unfairly David Miliband and Ed Miliband were seen as the candidates of Tony Blair and Gordon Brown. What Ed Miliband has been saying is ‘that’s history, we’ve got to move on’.”
Emphasising the new generation, he acknowledges, was a masterstroke. “All power to his elbow.”
Jim Murphy, a senior figure pushing David Miliband’s campaign forward, was the picture of grace in defeat.
“It was close, but well done to Ed. He won, it was a good campaign.”
There may have been question-marks raised about whether his man will continue in the shadow Cabinet – when asked about David Miliband’s future, he replied “that’s for David to decide” – but Murphy’s emphasis is now on the future.
“You can digest or dissect the contest we’ve just gone through. I’d rather as a team work together to put a plan in place for the election campaign.
“We’ve got to stay credible on the economy. We didn’t lose economic credibility in government and we sure as heck shouldn’t lose it in opposition.”
Not many of the Ed Miliband camp hung around on the conference floor; joyous celebrations were presumably in order – but the doughty Peter Hain gave a few interviews.
“I think this will allow the party to move forward. But David did incredibly well and everybody’s got to come together for a new direction for the party,” he told reporters.
Despite having relied on the support of the unions rather than party members to win the election, Ed Miliband’s victory was being greeted with delight by those on Labour’s left.
“I must say I’m delighted,” said Luton North MP Kelvin Hopkins.
“I think it’s a new chapter. New Labour is now dead. We’re now into a new era of a united Labour party pursuing more progressive democratic socialist policies…
“I think the party is well to the left of New Labour, has always been there, but they were controlled by this little cabal of New Labourites.
“They have gone – they will no doubt be writing nasty vitriol for right-wing newspapers – but who cares? They can join the Tory party as far as I’m concerned.
“We now have a united party behind a new leader who is very much more central to the party’s beliefs. And I think that’s crucial.”
Those who already have first-hand experience of the pressures of the job are already looking ahead to the challenges faced by Labour’s new leader, however.
Glenys Kinnock – whose husband Neil came so close to victory in the 1992 general election – was clear about what must be on top of Ed Miliband’s to-do list.
“He will build bridges, that’s his nature, and he’ll need to do a great deal of that in the weeks and months ahead.”
