Earlier, I mentioned that Ed Balls had accused David and Ed Miliband of briefing against each other, saying:
Between the brothers there has been a little bit of off-the-record briefing going on. Hopefully, the two of them will say to their supporters to stop it. It is pretty unedifying.
Now, it appears there is something of a mystery surrounding the fascinating interview, which is by Amber Elliott, political editor of Total Politics. The piece is officially under embargo until tomorrow, so I won’t reproduce it here (I have read it, though, and I recommend that others do so when it’s out).
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However, the Sun received some of the words from the interview in advance, and reported it thus today:
THE Miliband brothers are waging a bitching war against each other as they battle for the Labour leadership, another rival has revealed.
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Ed Miliband’s supporters have been slagging off his brother David’s “eccentric personality”.
And David’s fans are mocking Ed’s “dodgy decision-making”, according to former Education Secretary Ed Balls, who is also in the running.
In a plea to the other candidates to keep it clean, Mr Balls told Total Politics magazine: “Between the brothers there has been a little bit of off-the-record briefing going on.
“Hopefully, the two of them will say to their supporters to stop it. I think it is pretty unedifying.”
Seizing the moral high ground, he added: “There will be no off-the-record briefings from anybody involved with me.” His revelation is likely to provoke fury among rank-and-file party members. Labour’s 13 years in power were plagued by cabinet ministers feuding behind the scenes — speeding its downfall at the polls last month.
What is odd is that the “dodgy decision-making” and “eccentric personality” lines are not in the text of Elliott’s piece. So, where did they come from? A source close to Ed Balls is adamant that they did not come from him. Perhaps the paper can explain.