Energy Secretary Ed Miliband Encourages the Labour Party to Look Ahead After Keir Starmer Offers Apology to Wes Streeting for Negative Backgrounding
High-ranking Labour official Ed Miliband has called for the party to move beyond party conflicts after Prime Minister Keir Starmer directly said sorry to Health Secretary Wes Streeting MP over damaging briefings coming from Number 10.
Important Updates
- Miliband states the Prime Minister will fire the Downing Street official responsible for briefing against Wes Streeting if discovered
- Miliband rejects any party leader aspirations, saying his past experience as Labour leader was the "strongest protection" against seeking the role again
- UK economy grew by just 0.1 percent in the July-September period, hit by the JLR security breach
Situation
The political unrest began after allegations emerged about critical briefings from Starmer's supporters targeting the Health Secretary. Despite early attempts to dismiss the matter, the conversation between the PM and the health minister reportedly took a different direction.
The Prime Minister expressed regret to Streeting, the media have been informed. The discussion was brief, and they did not address the chief of staff, whom Starmer is now under increasing scrutiny to dismiss.
The Energy Secretary's Response
In his morning media interviews, Miliband emphasized the need for the party to direct attention on country-wide issues rather than internal divisions.
Clearly, I think the media briefing has been unhelpful, without doubt.
But my message to the Labour party today is quite simple, which is we need to prioritize the nation, not our internal matters.
We were given a historic mandate last summer, a historic chance to improve our country. And we have a serious responsibility.
Growth News
In other news, government figures revealed the UK economy increased by just 0.1% in the third quarter, with the industrial sector particularly hit by the recent Jaguar Land Rover hack.
Today's Schedule
- Morning: NHS England issues its monthly statistics
- Morning: The Health Secretary visits the Liverpool area
- Today: Rachel Reeves speaks to the media
- Late morning: Number 10 holds its daily lobby briefing
- Today: The Prime Minister highlights plans for the Britain's pioneering nuclear power plant at Wylfa site on the island of Anglesey
