David Miliband first to enter leadership contest

BRITAIN: Ex-Foreign Secretary may battle brother to succeed Gordon Brown

Ever since David Miliband stepped back from challenging Gordon Brown for the Labour leadership his critics have, rather unkindly, labelled him a ditherer.

But not yesterday. Moments after David Cameron and Nick Clegg announced their plans for Government, Miliband outlined how he planned to challenge them - becoming the first Labour figure to announce his candidacy for leadership of his party.

The former Foreign Secretary, who will hold a formal campaign launch in his South Shields constituency next week, is expected to be the front-runner when the contest gets properly under way.

It could be unique in pitting brother against brother, because Miliband's younger sibling, Ed, is also calculating whether he has the support to make a credible candidate.

If some Labour MPs had their way, the contest would also feature a husband and wife running against each other. Yvette Cooper, the former Work and Pensions Secretary and the most talented woman politician in Labour's top team, is married to former Schools Secretary Ed Balls, who is thought to be the one Gordon Brown would most like as his successor.

Yesterday, Cooper effectively ruled that out when she told the BBC: "I'm not putting myself forward for the top job right now." But some Labour MPs insisted after her statement that they wished Cooper would change her mind in order to have a credible woman contender in the race.

Miliband has the backing of almost the entire Blairite old guard, although the best-known figures, such as Tony Blair himself, Peter Mandelson and Alastair Campbell, are not likely to become involved.

Miliband, 44, was a close ally of Blair from the earliest days of New Labour, working for him in opposition from 1994 and heading the No 10 policy unit during his first term in power. Even before he became an MP, he was a key figure in reshaping the party's agenda, nicknamed "Brains" by Campbell for his powerful intellect and mastery of policy detail. He has the backing of the former Home Secretary Alan Johnson.

Ed Miliband, the former Energy Secretary, is "taking soundings" before deciding whether to run against his brother. The backbench MP Jon Cruddas, who came a creditable third in the 2007 deputy leadership race, is likely to run. Andy Burnham, the former Health Secretary, is also testing to see if he can muster the support.

The timetable will be decided by Labour's national executive when it meets next week. It looks likely that they will decide to let it run until the annual conference, which opens on September 26.

THE ODDS
* 2/7 David Miliband

* 5/1 Ed Miliband

* 9/1 Ed Balls

* 8/1 Andy Burhnam

* 20/1 John Cruddas

* 100/1 Peter Mandelson

*Source William Hill

- Independent