Defeated David Miliband to address Labour

David Miliband is set to address the Labour party conference later today after loosing out to his younger brother Ed in the party’s leadership contest.

He is set to appear on the conference platform in Manchester this morning in his role as shadow foreign secretary.

Arriving at the conference this morning with his wife Louise he said he was still considering his future.

“I don’t know if you noticed but I came here on Saturday planning a slightly different week. I am now thinking what I am going to do instead,” he said.

He joked with journalists last night that they would be “very focused” on the appearance, which will take the form of a question and answer session rather than a traditional keynote speech.

“There is no psychodrama” – Ed Miliband

“This conference is not about jobs for me, this is about a new future for the Labour Party,” he said.

During the leadership election campaign Mr Miliband said he would be prepared to serve under his brother, who until Saturday had always been his junior in politics. He has until Wednesday evening to put himself forward for the shadow cabinet.

Speaking this morning, newly crowned Labour leader Ed Miliband said his brother had a huge amount to give to politics. “There is no psychodrama”, he said.

On his arrival at the conference Ed Miliband indicated he would be making no decisions on the shadow cabinet until next week at the earliest.

“We had a very nice discussion on Saturday, but he needs his own time to think about what he is going to do,” he said.

“I think David is someone who is incredibly loyal, both to me and to the country. He will make his own decision about the best thing for him, and I think that is the right thing.

“But actually, this conference is about his speech today and my speech tomorrow. It is about us showing to the country that we understand why we lost the General Election and us showing humility to the country.”

Will David Miliband stay or go?
His question and answer session at Labour conference will leave more questions than answers, writes Krishnan Guru-Murthy.

As more than one senior backer of his told me last night it might be better to get the pain out of the way this week.

It is quite possible he will not even stand for the shadow cabinet. It could depend on whether or not he thinks the media and party will understand his reasoning or instead interpret it as a sulk or snub. Of course other supporters insist he must stay for the good of the party. One backbench supporter said to me last night "if he goes Ed is screwed. When so many people voted for David he needs him to stay."

Read more on Guru Blog

David Miliband was seen during the election campaign as the standard-bearer for New Labour, while Ed was seen as appealing to the left of the party and won by dint of his support among union members.

Ed Miliband yesterday declared the New Labour era over – but also insisted the party would not embark on a “lurch to the left” under his leadership.

In his first interview as leader, he sought to quash Conservative claims that he was the creature of the unions, whose votes were crucial in propelling him to victory, insisting: “I am my own man.”