More good news for the David Miliband camp: he has won his second (of two) primaries – where party members are given the chance to nominate their favoured Labour leader.
He’s not overwhelmingly ahead, however. Brother Ed came second with 34 per cent to his 39 per cent.
Still, the survey does reinforce the sense that this has become a two-horse race. Ed Balls, trailing 4th= at 7.6 per cent, must surely be weighing up the pros and cons of pulling out of the contest and giving his backing to one of the brothers in return for the shadow chancellorship.
Diane Abbott 7.6%, Ed Balls 7.6%, Andy Burnham 11.1%, David Miliband 39.4%, Ed Miliband 34%
UPDATE:
A reader calls in to point out that this level of advantage – if replicated nationally – may not be enough for Mili-D to sail past the finishing post. If Mili-E gets two-thirds of the second preferences, as a recent YouGov poll suggested, he could still swing it.
Indeed, friends of Ed Miliband think he would have won if the Edinburgh election were it held under AV rules.
FURTHER UPDATE:
Now there are calls for a re-run of the primary because – apparently – it should have been done as a first past the post vote.
Jim Pickard
Kiran Stacey