Ed Miliband's putter.

There should be someone near to Ed Miliband advising him not to support a 'Yes' vote in the forthcoming referendum on changing the electoral system. Miliband reminds me a little of the French golfer Jean Van de Velde in the 1999 British Open held at St Andrews. De Velde needed only a 6 on the final hole (2 shots over the par of the hole) to win the great tournament; his shots went everywhere including into the stream, from where, with shoes removed, he tried to play out. In the end he took 7 and lost the Open. Had de Velde taken his putter and gently tapped the ball towards the hole he would have won.

Ed Miliband should play the political putter. By aligning himself with the 'Yes' vote he is destined to be on the losing side and damaging his credibility. Miliband's claims that somehow the Alternative Vote will revitalise British politics is difficult to fathom; I have written about AV elsewhere in the blog, but essentially it can mean the person who comes second or even third in an election actually winning. It does nothing about creating a more proportional system. It also puts Ed Miliband on the same platform as Nick Clegg. There is so little that Ed Miliband can gain by supporting the change that is seems a reckless decision on the part of the Labour leader.

To mix sporting methaphors, Ed Miliband is backing the wrong horse.