“I want a Labour leader who can rise to the challenge”: Ed Miliband backs Owen Smith

Owen Smith’s bid to become Labour leader received a boost today as Ed Miliband made a new public intervention to throw his support behind the challenger’s campaign.

In a video for the Smith campaign, former leader Miliband reveals that the former Shadow Wales Secretary often lobbied him “to go further and be bolder” in his policies ahead of last year’s General Election. You can see the full video below.

“I want a Labour leader who can rise to the challenge of this moment,” Miliband says. “I want a Labour leader who can unite our party and make us a serious alternative government.

“And I want a Labour leader who’ll reach out to every part of Britain, and can do what Labour has done in the past, which is out of this crisis make it a progressive moment.”

“Which is why my choice for leader is Owen Smith.”

Miliband announced his support for Smith last month after he nominated the challenger for the leadership, but today’s intervention is a much more high profile endorsement of the Pontypridd MP.

You can watch the video here: