In the words of Liam Gallagher, "It takes more than blood to be my brother… Mine doesn't like me much and I don't like him." Which means I'm totally in awe of the Miliband brothers' (seemingly) close relationship. Equally, like the rest of the nation, I'm intrigued to see how it will survive now the youngest has trounced the oldest to become leader of the Labour party.
My brother (two years my senior) and I have always had a very turbulent relationship. So much so, that a couple of years ago, I finally decided to call it a day and have nothing more to do with him. Without going into detail, it's probably one of the best decisions I've ever made. I would never maintain a friendship with a person I didn't get on with, so why should I with someone who just happened to be born into the same family as me?
Even though the Miliband brothers are obviously much closer than us, the whole leadership contest still strikes a chord. Older brothers are naturally much more competitive than their younger siblings. Certainly in my own experience, this was the case. My brother has always been ruthlessly ambitious and determined to 'prove' himself – whatever that means. As far as he is concerned, the more money he earns (and the bigger his car), the more 'successful' he is.
Looking back, I subconsciously made some very tactical choices to avoid rivalry wherever possible. Whatever he did, I would do the opposite. He played football, I chose tennis. He hung out with boys; I preferred female company (ah, so it's his fault I'm gay!). He studied economics; I opted for languages and drama. He went into banking, I ended up in women's magazines.
I think I was always aware of the potential problems within the relationship and wanted to remove myself from these as much as possible. I suppose psychologists might suggest that if we couldn't be compared, then I wouldn't be able to fail. Or maybe we were just born different from the start? Who knows…
But what it does make me question is the fact the Miliband brothers chose such a similar career path and political persuasions in the first place. Surely they knew something like this would happen eventually? The reality is, they probably didn't. Everyone just assumed that 'nature' would take its course and that the elder brother would get there first.
So Ed winning the leadership contest must have come as a massive blow to David. Equally, I think Ed must be in a total state of shock too. He probably went into this whole thing thinking, 'OK, I just want to remind everyone that I'm still here by coming a very close second.'
Whatever the 'politics' of their own relationship, it’s refreshing to see the 'natural' sibling order upturned. I sincerely hope they can put any simmering rivalry to one side now and emerge as Labour’s dynamic duo – better and stronger than the potentially explosive Cameron-Clegg 'brotherhood'. Whatever the outcome, British politics is a more interesting place now because of it. So move over Liam, Noel and Jedward – all eyes are on Dav-Ed now...
My brother (two years my senior) and I have always had a very turbulent relationship. So much so, that a couple of years ago, I finally decided to call it a day and have nothing more to do with him. Without going into detail, it's probably one of the best decisions I've ever made. I would never maintain a friendship with a person I didn't get on with, so why should I with someone who just happened to be born into the same family as me?
Even though the Miliband brothers are obviously much closer than us, the whole leadership contest still strikes a chord. Older brothers are naturally much more competitive than their younger siblings. Certainly in my own experience, this was the case. My brother has always been ruthlessly ambitious and determined to 'prove' himself – whatever that means. As far as he is concerned, the more money he earns (and the bigger his car), the more 'successful' he is.
Looking back, I subconsciously made some very tactical choices to avoid rivalry wherever possible. Whatever he did, I would do the opposite. He played football, I chose tennis. He hung out with boys; I preferred female company (ah, so it's his fault I'm gay!). He studied economics; I opted for languages and drama. He went into banking, I ended up in women's magazines.
I think I was always aware of the potential problems within the relationship and wanted to remove myself from these as much as possible. I suppose psychologists might suggest that if we couldn't be compared, then I wouldn't be able to fail. Or maybe we were just born different from the start? Who knows…
But what it does make me question is the fact the Miliband brothers chose such a similar career path and political persuasions in the first place. Surely they knew something like this would happen eventually? The reality is, they probably didn't. Everyone just assumed that 'nature' would take its course and that the elder brother would get there first.
So Ed winning the leadership contest must have come as a massive blow to David. Equally, I think Ed must be in a total state of shock too. He probably went into this whole thing thinking, 'OK, I just want to remind everyone that I'm still here by coming a very close second.'
Whatever the 'politics' of their own relationship, it’s refreshing to see the 'natural' sibling order upturned. I sincerely hope they can put any simmering rivalry to one side now and emerge as Labour’s dynamic duo – better and stronger than the potentially explosive Cameron-Clegg 'brotherhood'. Whatever the outcome, British politics is a more interesting place now because of it. So move over Liam, Noel and Jedward – all eyes are on Dav-Ed now...
