Energy Secretary Ed Miliband Urges the Labour Party to Focus Forward After Starmer Offers Apology to Wes Streeting for Hostile Backgrounding
Senior Labour official Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has called for the party to put aside internal disputes after PM Keir Starmer personally expressed regret to health minister Wes Streeting MP over damaging briefings linked to the Prime Minister's office.
Major Updates
- Miliband declares Starmer will sack the Downing Street staffer behind for attacking Wes Streeting if discovered
- Miliband rules out any leadership aspirations, saying his previous time as leader was the "strongest inoculation" against seeking the role again
- UK economy expanded by just 0.1 percent in the third quarter, impacted by the Jaguar Land Rover cyber-attack
Situation
The political controversy erupted after reports emerged about negative background comments from Starmer's allies targeting the Health Secretary. Despite initial efforts to minimize the incident, the talk between the PM and the health minister according to sources followed a more serious turn.
Starmer said sorry to Wes Streeting, the media have been informed. The exchange was short, and they did not address Morgan McSweeney, whom the PM is now under growing pressure to remove.
The Energy Secretary's Response
In his early morning broadcast appearances, Miliband highlighted the need for the party to concentrate on national issues rather than party conflicts.
Clearly, I think the backgrounding has been unhelpful, certainly.
But my message to the party today is quite simple, which is we need to prioritize the public, not our internal matters.
We were given a major mandate last July, a major opportunity to improve our country. And we have a serious responsibility.
Growth News
Meanwhile, official data revealed the British economic performance grew by just 0.1 percent in the July-September period, with the industrial industry especially impacted by the recent Jaguar Land Rover hack.
Today's Schedule
- Morning: The National Health Service issues its latest performance figures
- Morning: Wes Streeting visits the Liverpool area
- Morning: Rachel Reeves makes comments to the media
- Late morning: Downing Street holds its regular lobby briefing
- Today: Keir Starmer highlights plans for the UK's pioneering small modular reactor facility at Wylfa site on the island of Anglesey
