Try as they might, those trying to find examples of David Miliband and Ed Miliband spinning against each other during this leadership contest will definitely be disappointed.
David has repeatedly said that “family is more important than politics”, and this is what happened when the BBC tried, understandably, to identify differences between Ed and his brother:
Asked whether he was “more human” than his older brother, he said: “Honestly, that’s all rubbish. One thing I’m not going to do in this contest is mischaracterise my brother, because I think he’s got an enormous contribution to make to our country.”
Sources close to both men say that in part of their discussions about the contest, they vowed never to say a bad word about each other. Anyone doing so is freelancing. And they have wished each other luck.
The question remains: will the other candidates — likely to include Ed Balls and Andy Burnham — follow suit?