Where better to seek clues about Ed Miliband’s new generation politics than Ed Miliband’s new generation of Labour MPs?

A quick look at how they voted in the leadership election and what has happened to them in the fortnight since is instructive.

A scan of the voting list reveals 29 new MPs first preferencing David, against 23 supporting his brother. Already, this is interesting. It shows that new MPs were disproportionately more likely to first preference Ed than was the PLP as a whole. Suggesting that perhaps he really is a leader for the new generation.

(New MPs were more likely to first preference both Milibands than was the PLP as a whole, but the difference was more pronounced for Ed, whom 4.7% more new MPs supported than did the PLP as a whole, compared to 3.3% for David).

Certainly, the politics of many of the more talented new generation Milibandistas do not appear to square with the compass-lite new tribunism that Ed has been preaching. The likes of Rachel Reeves, Emma Reynolds and Michael Dugher are straight out of the New Labour/old right tradition. Ed should not have been their natural choice. (more…)