David Maddox: Interesting timing from Miliband senior

IT SEEMS odd that David Miliband should choose this time to re-emerge from the shadows where he went to hide after narrowly losing to his brother Ed in the Labour leadership contest.

Up to about a fortnight ago it had appeared just a question of time before Ed Miliband was forced out, as his leadership floundered.

There was always the issue of Ed’s mandate, given that he only won courtesy of the trade union section of the electoral college and lost among MPs and ordinary party members, who backed his brother. Last month it appeared that even the unions were abandoning him after Labour said it would continue public-sector pay restraint.

But as Harold Wilson famously said: “A week is a long time in politics.”

The success of forcing RBS chief executive Stephen Hester to drop his £930,000 bonus which, while it lurched Labour to the left again, seemed to reinvigorate Ed Miliband’s leadership under the banner of a war on bonuses.

It was only after this that David, who some still hoped may return, published his article apparently criticising the direction of Labour in the New Statesman and launched his policy document on youth unemployment.

Few in parliament yesterday believed David Miliband when he said he was not interested in returning to front-line politics and more than a few believe he may still get the top job and save Labour.

In the end, MPs want power and government and if they don’t think Ed can deliver they now know that David is back.