How Ed Miliband's opposition to Trump reignited the #Milifandom

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/shortcuts/2017/jan/31/ed-miliband-trump-milifandom-travel-ban

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Name: The Right Honourable Ed Miliband MP.

Age: 47.

Appearance: Earnest. Sweet little grey bit in his hair.

Now, remind me. There are two Milibands – was he the one with the banana or the one with the bacon sandwich? Sandwich. Banana Miliband was David, because he posed nerdily with one before the Labour conference in 2008. Ed is sandwich Miliband because he was photographed clumsily eating one in May 2014.

Why is it always about food with those Milibands? It’s also about human rights, sometimes.

Oh, yeah. What are “human rights” again? They sound boring. They are quite boring, but they get interesting quite fast when someone takes them away.

Are you thinking of anyone in particular? Why, yes. Ed Miliband has been one of Britain’s leading opponents of President Trump’s ban on Muslims from some countries entering the US.

How so? He and the Conservative MP Nadhim Zahawi put forward a motion in the Commons urging Trump to repeal a measure they called “discriminatory, divisive and counterproductive”. It passed unanimously last night.

OK. And when he heard, Trump immediately backed down? Sadly, no. But these things are mostly symbolic, as is the ban itself, which is unlikely to make much difference to the US risk of terrorism.

Miliband might make a good Labour leader one day. He’s still young for a politician. He was Labour leader for five years, remember? Then he got spanked in the 2015 election.

Oh, yes. Sorry. There’s something rather forgettable about him. Yep. In December, a picture of him blowing his nose somehow ended up as a generic photograph to illustrate a story about flu on NBC News. Presumably because no one at NBC knew who he was.

Poor Ed. I know. He’s more of a nice guy than a tough guy, but it means he’s perfect in this kind of situation.

When everyone already agrees with him? Exactly. And now he’s having a moment.

Didn’t loads of teenage girls fancy him as well? That’s right, perhaps somewhat archly. The #Milifandom sprung up on Twitter to celebrate his niceness as the 2015 election approached. Now he may even be gathering fans in the US, where staff at the women’s blog Jezebel voted overwhelmingly that they “would”.

Are you sure they don’t think he’s just a guy with flu? Almost certain.

Do say: “Repeal the Miliban!”

Don’t say: “Let me just cut that sandwich up for you ...”