IF DAVID MILIBAND is secretly plotting to bring down Gordon Brown, then the strategy must be to lick the Prime Minister to death.

That can be the only conclusion from the Foreign Secretary's showpiece conference speech yesterday when the leader- in-waiting was gushing in his praise - perhaps just a little too gushing.

After all, two words are absent from almost every speech made in Manchester this week. They are 'Brown' and 'Gordon' - reflecting the widespread view that the unpopular PM is dragging down his party.

I went to a Sunday night rally when no fewer than four ministers spoke about Labour's future for a total of 35 minutes. The Prime Minister's name was not mentioned once.

So what are we supposed to think when Mr Miliband - the man who, in July, refused five times to back Mr Brown to survive - suddenly gets all lovey-dovey in front of the cameras?

Within minutes of getting to his feet, the Foreign Secretary was heaping adulation on his leader for banning cluster bombs, adding: "That's the sort of difference he makes in the world!" But that was just a warm-up for the moment he turned to face the PM to hail his "committed leadership" in boosting third world aid, proclaiming: "We can take inspiration from you!" Way over the top? It was like a penalty kick hitting the top of the Kop.

However, the speech was skilfully delivered, with a good Boris Johnson joke targeting his Beijing appearance: "The decimation of the British fashion industry in one photo opportunity..."

And there was plenty to please a Labour rank-and-file suspicious of his Blairite history, including a pledge to "close the gap between rich and poor" and a defence of working rights.

At the end, the PM was quickly to his feet to join in the standing ovation and to share a laugh and a joke for the cameras with Mr Miliband, as he warmly shook his hand.

Two David Milibands stalk the Manchester conference hall. One insists he desperately wants Mr Brown to stay in No.10, while the other is allegedly putting together his first Cabinet.

Yesterday, the first version turned up - the one determined not to give any ammunition to Mr Brown's allies by overtly undermining their hero.

If I was the PM prime minister, I would not bet against the other one showing up back in Westminster next month, if Labour is still 20 points behind in the polls.

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