David Miliband: 4-7
Who is he?
Elder son of the Marxist theorist Ralph Miliband, the South Shields MP and foreign secretary was Tony Blair’s protege and head of policy for the Labour party at the age of 29. He went on to head up Blair’s policy unit in Downing Street after the 1997 election. He is admired in the upper echelons of the Liberal Democrat party but lost face when he U-turned on a leadership bid two years ago.
USP A favourite with the metropolitan elite, seriously brainy and has the experience of a big cabinet brief in the Foreign Office.
Biggest hurdle His biggest challenges are to convince the Labour party grassroots that he will serve their needs, to prove he is more than a brainy academic and that he has popular appeal.
Photograph: Andrew Winning/Reuters