Ed Miliband moves to reassure One Direction over fears he is about to replace them as teenage girls' new obsession

Labour leader says Harry Styles and co 'have nothing to worry about' despite sudden outpouring of passion for him from teenage girls

A photoshopped picture of Ed Miliband depicted as One Direction star Harry Styles by @CoolEdMiliband (@CoolEdMiliband)

Ed Miliband has moved to reassure One Direction that he is not about to replace them as teenage girls’ new obsession, despite a sudden outpouring of passion for the Labour leader from smitten teenagers on Twitter.

In one of the more unexpected developments in the election campaign, Mr Miliband has received a splurge of messages from an army of teenage girls calling themselves the Milifandom, who declared the kind of passion normally reserved for pop stars.

Not wanting to upset relations with the boy band, Mr Miliband said: "I think One Direction have got nothing to worry about where I'm concerned.”

He said the Milifandom campaign, which describes itself as “a movement against the distorted media portrayal of Ed,” had “bemused” his wife Justine.

“When I told my wife last night she raised her eyebrows and thought there must be some mistake," he said.

Mr Miliband admitted he was "blushing" to read some of the comments from his new-found fans, protesting: "I wouldn't claim to be cool."

It was started by a 17-year-old called Abby, who started the Milifandom hashtag on Twitter to show her support of the Labour leader.

She also had a pithy message for the haters:

Mr Miliband himself tweeted her a message of support. He was first made aware of the fandom by The Independent, gasping when he was shown a picture of himself mocked up as a topless Poldark.

But Abby's far from alone in her love of the Labour leader:

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The Milifandom has even spawned @CoolEdMiliband, which shows the would-be Prime Minister in different iconic film roles and as famous people.

And here's Miliband, swooning to the soundtrack of Careless Whisper...

But there's new competition from young Conservatives, who have started the @Cameronettes. Run by a 13-year-old, the Cameronettes want David Cameron to gain the adulation of his political rival.

Earlier this month The Independent found that even Nigel Farage was popular with teenage girls. The Ukip leader was "the best person we've ever met," according to two 14-year-olds who met him in a park in the West Midlands.

There are two weeks until polling day - enjoy this while it lasts.

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