David Miliband rules himself out of Labour leadership race – but attacks brother’s leadership

That had been some murmurings over the weekend that David Miliband may – as unlikely as it seemed – consider getting involved in the Labour leadership race. He’s ruled himself out in an interview with the BBC, but not without attacking his brother’s leadership of the party first.

The elder Miliband confirmed that he wouldn’t be standing, saying:

“I’m clearly not a candidate in this leadership election… the commitment I have to the job I’ve got doesn’t change.”

But he warned that the electorate “didn’t want what was being offered,”, said that both Ed Miliband and Gordon Brown had “allowed themselves to be portrayed as moving backwards from the principals of aspiration and inclusion that are the absolute heart of any successful progressive political project…Either we build on what Labour achieved after 1997 and we have a chance to succeed, or we abandon it and we fail.”