Ed Miliband Urges Labour to Move On After Starmer Offers Apology to Streeting for Hostile Backgrounding
High-ranking Labour official Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has urged the party to move beyond party tensions after leader Keir Starmer personally said sorry to health minister Wes Streeting over damaging briefings coming from Downing Street.
Important Updates
- Ed Miliband declares the Prime Minister will fire the No 10 official responsible for briefing against Streeting if found
- The Energy Secretary dismisses future party leader ambitions, declaring his previous time as leader was the "most effective protection" against seeking the position again
- UK economy increased by just 0.1% in the July-September period, hit by the JLR hack
Situation
The internal unrest started after reports circulated about negative background comments from Starmer's allies targeting Streeting. Despite initial attempts to dismiss the situation, the discussion between the PM and the health minister apparently followed a different turn.
Starmer said sorry to Streeting, reporters have been advised. The discussion was brief, and they did not talk about Morgan McSweeney, whom Starmer is now under growing pressure to remove.
Miliband's Reaction
In his early morning broadcast interviews, Ed Miliband emphasized the need for the Labour Party to direct attention on country-wide matters rather than party disputes.
Clearly, I think the media briefing has been damaging, no question.
But my message to the party now is straightforward, which is we need to focus on the country, not our internal matters.
We were given a historic mandate last summer, a major opportunity to transform our nation. And we have a historic responsibility.
Economic Update
Separately, official data revealed the British economy expanded by just 0.1 percent in the third quarter, with the production sector particularly affected by the recently reported JLR hack.
The Day's Schedule
- 9.30am: The National Health Service publishes its latest statistics
- Morning: Wes Streeting is visiting the Liverpool area
- Morning: Rachel Reeves makes comments to the journalists
- Late morning: Downing Street conducts its daily media briefing
- Morning: Keir Starmer highlights plans for the UK's first small modular reactor facility at Wylfa on the island of Anglesey