London ? Britain’s opposition Labour Party elected young lawmaker Ed Miliband as its surprise new leader Saturday, after he narrowly defeated his elder and better-known brother in a close run contest to replace ousted prime minister Gordon Brown.

The siblings shared an emotional embrace after Miliband, 40, squeezed out David Miliband, the 45-year-old former foreign secretary, in a ballot of legislators, party activists and about 3.5 million labor union members.

Miliband pledged to reunite his wounded party, deposed in May after 13 years in office by the Conservative Party-led coalition government, and promised a role for his beaten brother — who struggled to hide his disappointment as he watched his younger sibling make a victory speech.