One of the ways you can tell that the media really does know that Miliband is the most likely next prime minister is that there is much more speculation about Cameron’s successor as Tory leader than about who the next Labour leader will be. The papers just don’t want to say it. The idea of Miliband as front-runner will legitimise him. And their whole strategy is about delegitimising him.
I always find it fascinating, though, to look at those speculations. What they reveal is a huge amount about who the media thinks is ‘good’. And that tells us much more about the papers than it does about the politicians they (we, I suppose) are judging. In this context, I have often asked a question: why is Boris Johnson seen as a likely next Tory leader, but Carwyn Jones never mentioned as a viable future Labour leader?
