Ed Miliband Urges the Labour Party to Look Ahead Following Keir Starmer Offers Apology to Streeting for Negative Backgrounding
Senior Labour Party figure Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has demanded the party to move beyond party disputes after leader Sir Keir Starmer directly expressed regret to Health Secretary Wes Streeting over damaging media stories originating from the Prime Minister's office.
Key Events
- Ed Miliband declares the Prime Minister will dismiss the No 10 staffer responsible for briefing against Wes Streeting if identified
- The Energy Secretary dismisses any party leader ambitions, stating his past experience as Labour leader was the "best vaccine" against seeking the position again
- British economy expanded by just 0.1 percent in the third quarter, hit by the JLR security breach
Background
The political controversy started after media stories circulated about negative background comments from Starmer's allies targeting Streeting. Despite early attempts to dismiss the matter, the discussion between the PM and Streeting according to sources followed a more serious turn.
Starmer said sorry to Wes Streeting, journalists have been informed. The conversation was short, and they did not talk about the chief of staff, whom the PM is now under pressure to remove.
Miliband's Statement
In his morning broadcast interviews, Miliband stressed the need for the Labour Party to focus on national matters rather than internal divisions.
Clearly, I think the briefing has been unhelpful, without doubt.
But my advice to the party today is quite simple, which is we need to prioritize the country, not our internal matters.
We were given a significant mandate last summer, a historic chance to change our nation. And we have a major responsibility.
Economic Update
In other news, official figures showed the British economy increased by just 0.1% in the July-September period, with the manufacturing sector particularly hit by the recent Jaguar Land Rover hack.
Today's Agenda
- 9.30am: The National Health Service issues its latest data
- Morning: Wes Streeting visits the Liverpool area
- Today: Rachel Reeves speaks to the media
- Late morning: Number 10 conducts its regular lobby briefing
- Today: Keir Starmer promotes government plans for the UK's pioneering small modular reactor facility at Wylfa on the island of Anglesey
