David Miliband’s Near-Heseltine Moment

David Miliband was oveheard talking to some of his aides at Labour’s Manchester conference this evening admitting that he had toned down some parts of his speech this afternoon in order not to be seen to be having a Heseltine moment — i.e. planning regicide (against Margaret Thatcher, in Heseltine’s case). Miliband’s brother Ed (also a Cabinet Minister) was left squirming live on camera on ‘Newsnight’, lanced like a crayfish on Jeremy Paxman’s harpoon, as he was asked to comment. The official line, not only from the Milibands, but also among most conference delegates, is that they are totally loyal to Gordon Brown. But the talk at the conference, safely off camera, is all about when Brown should go, how to bring it about, and who should be the next leader. David Miliband is, of course, the frontrunner, but that doesn’t mean he’ll get it. Moreover, Gordon Brown is as tenacious as an old lobster, and having been kept waiting so long by Tony Blair to get into Number 10, is unlikely to be in a hurry to hand over the keys to someone else.