Neil Kinnock: Ed Miliband has the X-factor

by Jennifer Painter / @jenpainter

In an interview with the Observer today, Neil Kinnock gives his reasons for backing Ed Miliband in the Labour leadership race, stating that ‘he has got the X-factor, especially where the X is the sign you put on the voting slip at election time.’

Kinnock describes Miliband as a ‘modern democratic socialist because he has got strong values and he is very practical’. He disagrees with comparisons made between Miliband and Tony Blair:

“Tony Blair is a method actor and there is no thespian in Ed Miliband, so it’s that much more natural, much less affected as it were.

“I say that in an affectionate way for Tony because the thespian arts have got their place as well, but Ed is not an actor so it is not the Blair thing, it is just Ed, you know.”

Ed Miliband currently has 24 PLP endorsements, with older brother David on 38 and Ed Balls on 20.

Read the full article here.