Peter Reynolds

It’s good to see that the Labour Party has rescued its leadership election from the very brink of irrelevance.

Diane Abbott comes from an authentic tradition of noble Labour politicians:  Tony Benn,  Michael Foot, Neil Kinnock, Ken Livingstone – these are people of integrity and valour who I mostly disagree with but who I have a deep respect for.

"I'm Oxbridge too don't you know"

If the alternatives are the oily Milliband brothers or the slippery Ed Balls then there should be no contest but I fear she cannot win.  She and Michael Portillo on “This Week” are the most balanced sofa in politics – despite ageing clubber Andrew Neil’s best efforts to caricature them.

The Milliband brothers are, of course, from the Tony Blair School Of Politics.  It’s also called “marketing”.  You don’t actually need to have any principles, you just research what the market wants and then provide it in a nice, shiny package with extra bonus points

I think that Ed Milliband will win because he still has an edge.  All the edges on his brother have been polished away.  He’s been burnished almost to Tony standards.  I could quite like Ed.  Maybe he’ll find his own voice if he’s given the chance.

Ed Balls?  As a Tory I’d love to see him as Labour leader.  It would be both entertaining and advantageous!