We summarised the core teams here yesterday. David Miliband made a point of saying in his formal launch speech that his named spokesperson would be Lisa Tremble, and that there would be no unattributable briefing. Cynics in the other camps have raised their eyebrows.
His organisation and logistics will fall to Joe Carberry, the widely liked godson of Peter Mandelson. (The Dark Lord himself is ‘keeping out of it’, as is Alistair Campbell).
The weird temptations of one more campaign have lured several former Downing Street staffers. Stewart Wood, Gordon Brown’s DCMS and foreign affairs guy, has joined Polly Billington spinning for Ed Miliband. Into which camp Rachel Kinnock has also wandered. Whereas the woman who used to share an office with Dr Wood in Downing St, former Head of Broadcasting, Nicola Burdett, has reportedly signed on to spin for Balls. At whose strategy meetings she will encounter the familiar face of Michael Dugher, now MP for Barnsley East but till very recently a top spinner in the Brown Downing Street.
For those who assume otherwise: I doubt that any of these ex-staffers will be paid for any work on this campaign, though many will be working full time. As they will have been on the general election. Which they won’t have been paid for either. They do it because they can’t help themselves.
So far, the Brown Downing Street is splitting between the two Eds. But there are many yet to declare.
