David Miliband: Let’s have a televised leadership debate

by Jennifer Painter / @jenpainter

David Miliband has called for a television debate between all candidates for the Labour leadership. He has written to his opponents saying:

“This leadership election must be a credit to the Labour party. It should also be our chance to re-engage the public so we can both understand why we lost but also to show how we will win back their trust. Therefore we should use every opportunity to engage the widest possible audience. The TV debate fired up interest in the election – and could be an excellent way to re-engage people with Labour.”

The Observer reports that many Labour MPs view this as a high-risk strategy, with Ed Miliband seen as having an ‘easier manner’ more suited to television performances. The paper states one Labour MP has said:

“I can see why David is taking the initiative but he will know that a televised debate can be a danger to the favourite – as we saw with the Nick Clegg surge during the election.”