Ed Miliband Fails To Make Best-Connected List

Ed Miliband has failed to make the list of the 100 best-connected men in Britain – even though his brother, David, gets a slot.

David Cameron and London mayor Boris Johnson both get a mention on the list as does the shadow education secretary Tristram Hunt, the only Labour MP to do so.

Also making the cut is Ed Miliband's senior adviser, the former journalist Tom Baldwin, described in the GQ magazine run-down as "a cross between Alastair Campbell, Hunter S Thompson and Rasputin" and "a general go-to fixer for every problem facing the leader of the opposition".

David Miliband, the former Labour foreign secretary, quit politics after losing the 2010 leadership contest to his brother.

He went to live and work in the US as president of aid charity International Rescue, and is praised by the magazine for "reinventing himself as a world-stage player".

The magazine condemned Labour leader Ed as struggling "to reinvent Labour in time for the next election".

Mr Cameron is hailed for "forging against all the odds a coalition government", however, Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg fails to make the list.

The Prince of Wales, who is also on the list, is described as "a modest, but hugely influential deputy head of state, as the Queen, 87, begins to scale down her responsibilities".

Other names to feature in the magazine’s top 100, which is not ranked in order of importance, include News Corp executive chairman Rupert Murdoch, BBC director general Lord Hall and CNN presenter Piers Morgan.

David Beckham and Andy Murray represent the sports world.

Also listed is actor and author Stephen Fry and Idris Elba, who was recently hailed for his performance as Nelson Mandela, and Sherlock actor Benedict Cumberbatch.

The magazine, which formerly published the list as "most influential", describes the PR mogul Matthew Freud as "probably the best-connected man in Britain".

GQ editor Dylan Jones said: "The era of traditional, top-down power is over; connection is the new influence and today's achievers operate via a free-flowing exchange of ideas, using social media and personal networks to create value and understanding.

"In recognition of this we decided to partner with Editorial Intelligence, the knowledge networking business, to co-curate a list bringing together those who embody the power of ideas today in a circle of connections rather than a top-down Who's Who."

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