ALEX BRUMMER: I got to know ‘Red Ed’ and in private, he’s not the goofy nerd you’d expect. It won’t make me popular, but I believe he could make a good Chancellor

The front page of yesterday’s Daily Mail ran the headline: ‘Don’t leave the economy at the mercy of ‘Red Ed”, a reference to Ed Miliband, the messianic Foreign Secretary responsible for Energy Security and Net Zero.

The accompanying story outlined the charge sheet that made him such an unsuitable candidate to be Andy Burnham’s Chancellor.

The doctrinal obsession with Net Zero, even if it means jobs disappearing and energy bills rising.

His history as a tax and spend merchant in the mold of many past Labor Chancellors, with all the dire consequences this would have for the long-term health of the economy.

And, of course, his diabolical and brutal decision to stab his own brother in the back in his successful bid to win the Labor leadership in 2010 raises lasting questions about his character.

But – and you might want to make sure you sit down at this point – I have a feeling installing Miliband in No 11 Downing Street Negative Might be the worst idea ever.

In fact, I’d go so far as to say that ‘Red Ed’ is far superior to any other candidate for this job.

Let me explain. The reason Miliband has survived more than 20 years in elected politics is that he is much brighter and more handsome than his public image suggests.

Ever since he was photographed wrestling with a pastrami sandwich at a café in New Covent Garden Market in 2014, there has been a tendency to dismiss him as a dim-witted nerd with the social awkwardness of an intellectual who has never bothered to master everyday tasks.

But my encounters with Miliband over the years have shown me to be both poised and charming.

Tall and assertive, he has a real public presence. If you put most politicians in a crowded room surrounded by journalists, they will display the aggression and ill-temper that comes from years of being bullied by the media. Miliband, on the other hand, seems quite comfortable in such environments.

Then there’s his incredible intelligence. He got his first job in politics working for the Shadow Chief Secretary to the Treasury, Harriet Harman, but according to Brown’s former spin doctor, Charlie Whelan, Gordon Brown ‘robbed her of Harriet’ after noticing her skills in calculating numbers, developed at the London School of Economics and Harvard University.

My first face-to-face meeting with Miliband took place around this time. He offered to come to the Daily Mail office to explain to city and economic staff and leading writers how his proposed sweeping reforms to the benefits system would work in practice.

Her willingness to interact with people who are less inclined to give her an easy ride contrasts sharply with Rachel Reeves.

He has a frustrating habit of unearthing untested initiatives, defending them to the last ditch, and tossing them when it’s clear they’re viewed as kryptonite by voters.

The sharp U-turns, first the winter fuel allowance for ten million OAPs and then the cuts to Personal Independence Payments, are good examples of Reeves’ shoot first, ask questions later approach.

By contrast, during his visit to Mail HQ, Miliband explained, with the help of a whiteboard, exactly how a new working family tax credit system would work and encourage people to stay in the workforce rather than just living off the state.

As Andy Burnham prepares to move to No.10, could Miliband join him in the side?

His presentation revealed a deep knowledge of how the welfare state interacts with the rest of the economy, and the proposals he announced that day were precursors to the universal credits developed by former Tory leader Iain Duncan Smith and implemented by the 2010 coalition government.

Miliband also has a backbone. Whatever we say about his dogged commitment to the Net Zero plan, his refusal to bow down in the face of opposition from politicians and union leaders looking to engage in a ‘baby drill’ shows that he has the inner steel that many members of Keir Starmer’s government lack.

Imagine the same missionary zeal and dogged determination applied to revitalizing the British economy and restoring order to the public finances.

Even bond markets, which are key to keeping the Burnham team in power, could be affected.

He may be the son of the late Marxist academic Ralph Miliband, who published works such as Socialism and Class Power for a Skeptical Age and State Power, but Miliband Jr. made his economic forays under the rule of a man with a much more realistic approach.

After all, Brown deserved international recognition for his solid management of the aftermath of the credit crisis in 2008, just one year into his term as prime minister.

And Brown, his chief aide Ed Balls and Miliband (then lower in the hierarchy) recognized what subsequent governments had ignored: endless government borrowing comes at a huge cost.

In the current financial year taxpayers will pay a staggering £135bn to pay interest costs on the nation’s debt mountain.

Imagine the progress we could make if this sum could be spent on repairing the nation’s depleted defenses or making much-needed investments in our energy, water, technology, telecommunications and transportation infrastructure.

Brown’s smart move at number 11 was to recognize that the Treasury had a culture that stifled original ideas and develop strategies to combat this.

Together with a small coterie of advisers, he developed a radical agenda – notably the independence of the Bank of England, which had been blocked for decades by the Treasury – and presented it to stunned mandarins as a fait accompli. Miliband was among those watching and learning.

It’s unlikely Red Ed is the only one thinking radically about the cost of welfare budget It is predicted to consume £350bn of taxpayers’ money in 2026-27.

There are already signs that some senior members of the party are growing weary of their more Left-wing colleagues’ obsession with increasing spending in this area.

Among the email and text tranches released as part of the post-mortem analysis of Peter Mandelson’s disastrous appointment as our US ambassador was a message from Work and Pensions Secretary Pat McFadden, a long-time ally of Miliband.

In a WhatsApp message to Mandelson, he said his fellow ministers were constantly asking: ‘Who can we tax to benefit others?’ He expressed his anger at being asked the question.

In the same way that it is generally easier for Left-leaning governments to double down on national security, it will also be easier for a resolutely Leftist Chancellor to tackle the stubborn backbenchers and entrenched vested interests that have so far blocked reform.

It is undeniable that as Energy Minister Miliband made many enemies, especially among the unions representing North Sea oil producers and their workers.

Not supporting offshore drilling at a time of energy uncertainty and rising import prices was a huge mistake.

But his determination and refusal to be forced into a U-turn shows the will the Treasury urgently needs.