David Miliband gave what was billed as a final public appearance — before taking up his post at the International Rescue Committee in New York — at last night’s benefit for Primrose Hill Community Library at Cecil Sharp House, for a Q&A with Jon Snow.
But he disappointed some guests by revealing it’s unlikely that his memoir will ever be found on its shelves.
“I’ve spent 20 years writing speeches and manifestos and it’s a different discipline to writing a book,” he said. “I’ve thought about it and my muscular habits are for shorter interventions. To write a book would be a great thing but I don’t know if I have the discipline, or the mental space.”
The future of the former Foreign Secretary may, for now, lie in New York but he still showed concern at talk of Britain’s withdrawal from the EU. “Yes, as a country we are good at holding weddings and funerals,” he said, “but let’s not only have people coming in for weddings and funerals.”
