Has Red Ed turned into a part-time MP?

From his self-imposed exile in New York, where he’s been licking his wounds since he failed to win the leadership in 2010, David miliband returned to the political centre stage yesterday to demand a second EU referendum.

But what of his brother Ed, who two years after quitting the party leadership, is still an mP at Westminster?

What’s he doing? Well, in the eyes of the Corbynistas, not very much. A backbencher with time on his hands, he has one of the worst voting records of all Labour mPs.

He’s managed to turn up for just 55 per cent of the votes in the past year. Yet Comrade Corbyn, the party leader and often out of Westminster, managed 78 per cent.

Shadow Chancellor John mcDonnell, Shadow Home Secretary Diane Abbott and Shadow Foreign Secretary Emily Thornberry, who also have other Lord SteeL, Lord Ashdown, and Lord Campbell — three former Lib dem leaders — were spotted together at the edinburgh Festival on Saturday night. do you think they were going to see the comedy caper Clowntown, or would that be too close to the truth for the ridiculous Lib dems? commitments, all managed to take part in 89 per cent of the votes. Another darling of the Blairites, Chuka Umunna, almost alone in thinking he’s a potential future leader, has managed nearly 70 per cent.

But then Ed has other interests these days. He’s been on expensespaid trips to China, Crete, France, Greece and New York. He also squeezed in a week presenting the Jeremy Vine Show on radio 2 at £2,500 for a week’s work.

And this is the man who, as party leader, said he was opposed to mPs having second jobs!