Next week sees the start of Uncut’s Labour leadership desert island discs series. Eight music tracks, a book, a film, a website and a luxury. One of the Miliband brothers to kick off, depending which gets his answers in first.
It would be interesting to hear your predictions. Will any of them actually just pick the 8 records they like best? Is there any real chance they will come clean with the Tina Turner and the Mantovani?
Or are they cloistered with their top aides as we speak, agonising over whether Billy Bragg is de rigeur, de trop, passé or just beyond the pale?
And what single book can the boffiny Miliband boys possibly elevate above all others? All those years of wonking, all that policy. How can they possibly fit it all into one book? Will they even try?
Two years ago almost to the day, Ed Balls did a dry run when he hosted a one-man show in his father’s Norfolk village featuring “music, readings and reminiscences” which gave a “personal insight into the life of a high-profile politician”. It was titled: “With Great Pleasure”. Really.
Diane Abbott is the only one of the five who has actually been on BBC Radio 4’s desert island discs programme. Which raises difficult editorial questions for Uncut: should she be allowed to pick different tunes? Or obliged to? Or disqualified? Or what? This playing field is not level. And modern politics abhors – more than anything – an unlevel playing field.
All contributions gratefully received below.
Tags: desert island discs, Labour leadership
sounds interesting, more insightful in many ways about the real people involved than more traditional political analysis