Ed Miliband has moved to assert his authority over the Labour party after the departure from the shadow cabinet of his defeated and demoralised brother, David. The elder Miliband resigned, saying that he needed to give his brother space to lead alone, free of distractions. The new leader admitted his top team had been weakened by David's move, and in effect ordered Nick Brown, a strong supporter of Gordon Brown, to stand aside as chief whip, to be replaced by the popular, unifying figure of Rosie Winterton.
Some of the new leader's closest aides suggested that Ed Miliband is steeling himself to reject Ed Balls's attempt to become shadow chancellor, even though Miliband signalled that he would move towards Balls's policy by promising to tax more than the former chancellor Alistair Darling had proposed. "With David gone, Ed has to make sure the top team looks balanced," one aide said.
In a departure marked by magnanimity and self-restraint, David Miliband said that in some ways the easy decision would have been to remain in the shadow cabinet, but that his instinct as soon as he lost the leadership race on Saturday was that he would have to go. He will remain as a backbencher, and write, as well as taking time to recharge his intellectual batteries and spend more time with his two young children. Heartbroken supporters continued to grit their teeth in the interests of party unity, but one said: "David is giving Ed some space to carry on torching the house we built."
