Last night Miliband was on Newsnight, unlike Gordon he does have the courage to face Paxo, and was arguing that “Green is the new red”. All very worthy and dull eco-technocratic-tosh. More interesting were his protestations about not wanting Gordon’s job. That is something that Alan Johnson emphasises as well. Clearly if you want to survive and not be mauled by the Brownies briefing behind your back, you have to say repeatedly “Gordon is the best man for the job”. Despite the fact that, as Martin Bright writes in this week’s New Statesman, the Labour Party is no longer in denial post the May Day Massacre.

Miliband’s word formula is that he is getting on with being foreign secretary, it is becoming almost as familiar as Heseltine’s old word formula: Heseltine used to say that there were “no circumstances imaginable currently in which he would…”

Last night it was nuanced very deliberately in Guido’s opinion:

Paxo : How much longer can you resist these calls for you to take on the burden of leadership?

Milibland : For as long as it takes until Gordon Brown calls the next general election. Gordon was the right leader last year and he is the right leader this year, and to take us into the general election

Clearly Gordon is the captain and he can go down with the sinking ship, then it is everyone for himself…

Miliband’s word formulations have to allow for the non-cerebal Brownies’ psychotic tendencies. Hence he pledges completely over the top total fidelity and loyalty – with a time limit – until the day after the general election. The truth is Gordon has the job until election day because no one else now wants it. That is also why Alan Johnson doesn’t want the job of spinning on broadcast media, the job Hazel Blears undertook in the past for Blair. He clearly does not want to be associated in the public eye with the Brown disaster.Guido still stands by his 2005 prophecy: Cameron will be PM and Miliband will immediately challenge for the leadership…