Brand Failure: Labour

Abstract

Ed Miliband was elected Labour leader on 25 September 2010.¹ He defeated his older and politically more senior brother, David, on the fourth and final round of voting by a wafer-thin margin, 50.65% to 49.35%. David Miliband had led in all three earlier rounds of voting, and even in the final round led amongst both Labour MPs/MEPs and party members, but Ed Miliband’s lead amongst trades union and affiliated bodies was just sufficient for victory. Inherent in a voting system like the one used by Labour is the idea that the various components of the electoral college might differ in their preferences (if not, there is no point in having them), but the nature of Miliband’s victory thereafter allowed critics, both within and without the party, to say that he owed his victory to the unions.²