Ed Miliband has saved Labour from a decade in the political doldrums by suppressing splits that had previously racked the party during periods in opposition, a political historian said yesterday.

Dr Richard Carr, who is leading a special conference on Labour’s “wilderness years” of the 1980s today, told the Star Mr Miliband “deserves credit” for averting a similar crisis after the party’s 2010 election defeat.

He said: “What Miliband has done is avoid the massive split between left and right that was seen in the Labour party in the early ’80s.

“You could argue it’s coming to the fore now with rumblings over his leadership.

“But it’s historically rare for the Labour Party to lose an election and not promptly fall out with each other.”

A paper on the split by the “gang of four,” who left Labour to found the Social Democratic Party in 1981, is among dozens being presented at the Anglia Ruskin University event.

Dr Carr reminded Mr Miliband’s detractors that it is the Tory Party which has faced high profile defections in this Parliament — Douglas Carswell and Mark Reckless to Ukip.

But he said double election knockbacks for Neil Kinnock in 1987 and 1992 show that Labour needs to offer voters more than an end to Tory government.

“Kinnock was always clear about reversing the excesses of Thatcherism and Miliband is clear about reversing the excesses of the coalition,” he said.

“It’s clear he’s vaguely pro social justice and quite a nice guy — but he’s got to forge a positive platform that makes it clear what a future Labour government will deliver.”