The suggestion by DM supporters that EdM represents a lurch to the 1970s/1980s Left is ridiculous. Any such faction barely exists in the country, and left the Labour Party at least 15 years ago. Ed Miliband was a teenager when the Berlin Wall came down.

How far to the Right does the party have to move, before any slight move in the opposite direction isn't derided as electoral suicide by New Labourites?

There is a complete failure to understand public opinion in play. Gauge opinion on taxing finance or second homes, public services not being run for profit, building council houses, and imo you'll find a solid centre-left majority.

I left the Labour Party a decade ago in disgust over PFI, and the leadership's contempt towards its members' choices of Rhodri Morgan and Ken Livingstone. I voted Lib Dem in the last 3 elections, but after that disaster, am highly tempted to rejoin the Labour Party.

In Ed Miliband's pitch, I can see a reason to do so. Even Diane Abbott or Ed Balls seem consistently leftish enough, though they'd be a disaster with the country.

But what exactly does David Miliband, have to offer a potential voter, or member like me? Why is he assumed to have broad appeal? Is it just because prominent New Labour people say so? This same bunch that have steadily eroded Labour's popularity and membership base?

Is this the same Ed Miliband that was voted best politician on Mumsnet?

@Nick @ang I don't know why you are writing what you are writing (??) but your defence of DM sounds just primitive and sound-bitish. I have not heard DM say anything in terms of curtailing the profits of the city which would be the prerequisite to being able to 'fight the cuts', as you soundbite so nicely. Also many core Labour voters have STAYED AWAY in their ten tousands during the reign of 'attractive' Tony Blair - and its THESE voters Labour has to care about again, and not 'the voters' of allandnothing soundbite 'glossy magazine' land, which flutter away anyway the next election come.

Redpen. I write to express my view, it's called free speech! It's a question of who I think will get us re-elected, whether you like it or not that man is David Miliband. Politics have changed, they have had to become more middle ground. All that is 'left' is not just for the best, anymore than all that is 'right' is the better alternative. The electorate have a vision of the 'old' Labour days tied to James Callaghan, Michael Foot and so on, I'm not against how they led but that kind of politics is no more, our whole manufacturing base has changed and thus politics has had to change with it.

People condemn Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, but they kept us in power for a good 13 years, their politics therefore has to stand for something.

When people reject 'New Labour' they think of 'Old' Labour; this coalition will be the first to remind them of how that led to the party going down.

I've listened to all that the contenders have to say and quite simply I've made my mind up as to who I believe could be a credible and electable PM; that's the reality. I want a credible alternative to this coalition;it is to be found in David Miliband. David Milliband will deliver a better economy based on slower deficit reduction with progressive and sustained growth; he will also uphold our social welfare state.

"The lesson of the Cruddas endorsement is that both he and Miliband are far more complex political figures than many of their supporters and detractors imagine"

The lesson might equally be that Jon - intelligent, decent, and genuinely centre-left though he undoubtedly is - has simply made an error of judgement, as he did over Iraq, over 42 day detention and over his early backing of Tony Blair.

The amazing thing about all these people is that they have bugger all to say to the working class who used to form the base of the Labour movement. If we want to resume any sort of power we should resume the shibboleth of CLause 4 for what it represents and we could start off by a few nationalisations. Water, Electricity, Gas and Transport. There are lots of forms which could circumvent the EU laws against doing so. Get real and get a labour movement again.

Why has the Labour been out of power since most of its existance? Answer:Because the Left has been divided. And we've seen that happen across Europe.
Are we going back to the internecine struggles of the 80s when we had to get rid of the militant fringe and looney left the Trots and the facist tendency within our midst, before we settled down to being a decent Party again? Those unsavoury elements are rearing their heads again as they sense an opportunity to do damage. In the 80s we attracted the label of 'the Nasty Party' long before the Tories took on that label.
It seems Labour are in danger of regressing back to the bad old days.
If David is elected, further ructions will follow as he brings in Purnell and others. So Trickett is right to feel let down, and so is Compass.

@swatantra nandanwar

I support Ed Miliband, it hardly makes me a follower of Ted Grant and the militant.

Internal debate during a leadership election is healthy for the party and just as it was right to abandon the vote losing anachronistic clause 4, so it is right to abandon ID cards, detention without trial and apologise for the Iraq war all of which lose us votes.

I am disappointed with Cruddas’ position because the candidate he backs points toward a continuing of those policies, both wrong in terms of Labour values and also in terms of our continued electability as a party.