Energy Secretary Ed Miliband Calls on Labour to Move On After Keir Starmer Apologises to Streeting for Negative Backgrounding
Senior Labour figure Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has called for the party to leave behind party tensions after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer personally said sorry to health minister Wes Streeting over negative leaked comments linked to Downing Street.
Major Events
- Miliband declares the Prime Minister will sack the No 10 staffer responsible for targeting Wes Streeting if found
- The Energy Secretary dismisses future leadership plans, declaring his previous time as Labour leader was the "most effective vaccine" against wanting the position again
- UK economy expanded by just 0.1 percent in the third quarter, hit by the Jaguar Land Rover hack
Background
The political controversy erupted after reports emerged about critical background comments from the Prime Minister's allies targeting Streeting. Despite initial attempts to dismiss the situation, the talk between Starmer and Streeting according to sources followed a different turn.
Starmer said sorry to Wes Streeting, the media have been advised. The discussion was short, and they did not discuss the chief of staff, whom the PM is now under growing pressure to dismiss.
Miliband's Statement
In his morning media appearances, Ed Miliband emphasized the need for the party to direct attention on country-wide priorities rather than party conflicts.
Look, I think the media briefing has been bad, no question.
But my advice to the Labour party today is clear, which is we need to prioritize the nation, not each other.
We were given a historic election win last summer, a important chance to transform our nation. And we have a historic duty.
Economic Update
Separately, government data revealed the UK economy expanded by just 0.1% in the July-September period, with the production sector particularly affected by the recently reported JLR security incident.
Today's Schedule
- Morning: NHS England issues its monthly statistics
- Morning: Wes Streeting visits the Liverpool area
- Today: The Chancellor speaks to the media
- Late morning: Downing Street holds its regular media briefing
- Morning: The Prime Minister announces government plans for the UK's pioneering small modular reactor facility at Wylfa on the island of Anglesey
