King over the water? David Miliband doesn’t rule out returning to British politics
David Miliband has not ruled returning to British politics in an interview with Vogue that will no doubt spark speculation among commentators.
The former foreign secretary, who lost the contest for the Labour leadership to his brother, resigned from Parliament in 2013 and went on to take a position at a leading charity in New York.
In an interview with Vogue magazine, he was asked if he could envisage a return to UK politics, he replied:
Ummm…I don't know, is the answer.
He refused to give a commentary on his brother's performance as Labour leader, telling Vogue:
I can't say anything, because anything I say plays into the whole narrative. And I made an absolute commitment to myself not to play into the story … It's not good for him and it's not good for me for this to become a story.
His comments come as the three major parties kicked off what is set to be one of the longest general election campaigns in British political history. Yesterday, Ed Miliband gave a speech in Manchester warning voters that the NHS would become unrecognisable if the Tories were given another term in office.
He told an audience of party supporters in Salford that Labour would win the election "by having millions of conversations" with the voters. Labour's first election poster claimed the Tories wanted to slash public spending back where it was in the 1930s prior to the creation of the NHS. This claim has come under sharp criticism.
The Tories were also in full campaigning mode, holding a press conference with five cabinet ministers including the chancellor George Osborne to reveal a dossier that claims Labour has committed to £20bn of unfunded spending in the next parliament. However, this dossier was also called into question as Labour was quick to say which areas it was keenest to cut.
The Conservatives argued that Labour was not fit to manage the economy and would recklessly drive the recovery off course. Meanwhile, the Lib Dems sought to stake out their position that they would cut less than the Tories but spend less than Labour.