Will Gordon forgive the Environment Secretary’s QT gaffe?

These two screen shots show the expression on David Miliband’s face within a few seconds of his gaffe about Gordon Brown during BBC’s Question Time on Thursday. For as we have noted before the still photograph is often much more revealing than a moving image.

By going through the recording frame by frame it’s apparent that the youthful Environment Secretary realised immediately the implications of what he had said.

For he had told the audience “I predict that when I come back on this programme in six months or a year’s time, people will be saying ‘wouldn’t it be great to have that Blair back because we can’t stand that Gordon Brown’ “.

The astute Labour blogger, Paul Linford, judged it like this “..the Brownites will view the comment as, at best, inept and, at worst, indicative of the mindset in the “Blair Bunker..I don’t think Gordon will forget this, and it may well take him a fairly long time to forgive.”

With the opposition parties preparing their welcome onslaught for Labour’s new leader every little chink will be exploited for maximum effect. Maybe Cameron will use it at the next PMQs?

Until Thursday night I had judged Miliband, now out to 24/1 for the leadership, as just about the only contender who could possibly mount a serious challenge. He had been doing well getting prominence with the bird flu panic which he was using well to to show how competent he is. This follows some assured performances in the climate change debate which has been reinvigorated by the former Margaret Thatcher aide, Christopher Monckton.

That might have all been blown away by Thursday’s ill thought out observation. Watch the video extract here.

Mike Smithson