Jonathan Todd

“Which four people, real or fictional, would you most like to go down the pub with?”

On Monday the Mirror’s James Lyons published Ed Miliband’s answer to this question, alongside the answers of the other Labour leadership contenders. “Rachel Weisz, Bobby Kennedy, Alex Higgins and my brother”, said Ed.

Labour Uncut reacted to the Alex Higgins selection: “Alex Higgins. Alex Higgins? That’s more like it. Suprising. Quirky. Great shout. This is what we want, something leftfield. The kind of answer that makes you kick yourself in the pub, wishing they were on your short list.”

My reaction was to note that this was the second time, to my knowledge, that Ed had offered Alex Higgins as an answer to an interview question. He recently told the Spectator that Higgins is one of his heroes, along with Geoff Boycott and Jimmy Connors. He explained these choices by saying he was attracted to ”the charisma of imperfection”.

Perhaps, flawed genius is the only real kind of genius. Certainly, that is what Alex Higgins was. Labour Party members are increasingly concluding that Ed is a political genius. He recently drew the largest crowd to a Labour Party meeting in Carlisle since the days of Harold Wilson, so they may very well be right. The excitement at this Carlisle event, while more sedate and less alcoholic, may just have rivalled that at the Jampot Billiard Hall, Belfast, in Higgins’ early days.