Alastair Campbell on Abbott, Balls and the Milibands

By Alex Smith / @alexsmith1982

Speaking on the BBC’s Daily Politics Show today, Alastair Campbell commented on the relative strengths and weaknesses of the leadership candidates for the Labour Party, again expressing his preference for David Miliband. And he had some strong words to say about Diane Abbott:

“If Diane Abbott became, God forbid, the leader of the Labour party, the Labour party’s finished.”

Campbell also said Ed Balls may be considered by many to be “too tribal”:

“Ed Balls has got a got a lot of guts. In terms of appeal to the public I think he’s less rounded in that appeal than David and Ed.”

Speaking about the Milibands, Campbell said:

“In the end you have to make a judgement. Ed has done a perfectly good job. I think David has got that edge…I think David is more experienced, more rounded, more of a leader….David to me was always his own man, he always had his own ideas. He’s the guy who will develop the agenda for policy in the future.”

Hat tip Politics Home.