David Miliband for Chancellor says Blair's former speechwriter

Cherie Blair tomorrow vents her spleen in the Times, having brought forward the publication of her autobiography by six months. Gordon Brown, she suggests, would have got the keys to Number 10 much earlier if he'd helped her husband more along the way.

At the same time, her husband's former speechwriter, Peter Hayman, writes on The Times comment pages that Alistair Darling should be pushed aside and David Miliband should be made Chancellor. Is this all Hyman's own work or is he acting as a Blairite outrider to float an idea?

A prime minister needs his strongest minister as chancellor, and Mr Miliband is currently the strongest minister. He has a feel for economic policy as well as wide experience of all policy development as a former head of the No 10 policy unit. He would be skilful, has spent time thinking through what a post-Blair agenda looks like more than most, and combines an appeal to middle and lower-income voters. ....

Mr Brown never needed a safety-first premiership. Rather, he had to perform an extraordinary act of renewal. He needed a chancellor to stand up in his first Budget and set out an agenda for both economic stability and reform. What Gordon Brown needed was a Gordon Brown as chancellor (minus the aggro). It may well be too late. But at least putting the right chancellor in place would provide a glimmer of hope. For there is nothing more important if Labour is to recover than to convince the public that the good times will return.

Comments

[TrevorH]

"He has a feel for economic policy " ... yeah, like his dad.

Milliband was ripped to pieces by Paxman on Newsnight this week over his blatantly empty headed 'green' speech. It was not just that it was obvious that Millibands speech was a load of self serving tosh, it was the gibbering way Milliband responded to the questioning.

What was significant about that particular edition of Newsnight was not that Paxman eviscerated two government ministers, it was that they did not seem capable of offering a coherent defence.

[Rex]

I don't think Cherie Blair should have written an autobiography. It demeans the office of Prime Minister.

[TrevorH]

No it demeans the 'office' of Prime Ministers wife.