Energy Secretary Ed Miliband Calls on Labour to Move On Following Starmer Offers Apology to Wes Streeting for Hostile Backgrounding
Senior Labour figure Ed Miliband has called for the party to put aside party conflicts after PM Sir Keir Starmer personally expressed regret to health minister Wes Streeting MP over hostile leaked comments linked to Number 10.
Major Events
- Miliband states the Prime Minister will fire the No 10 staffer responsible for attacking Streeting if found
- Miliband dismisses future leadership plans, saying his previous time as Labour leader was the "best vaccine" against seeking the role again
- British economic growth increased by just 0.1 percent in the July-September period, impacted by the JLR cyber-attack
Situation
The internal turmoil started after media stories surfaced about negative briefings from the Prime Minister's team targeting Streeting. Although early attempts to minimize the incident, the talk between the PM and the health minister reportedly followed a different direction.
Starmer expressed regret to Streeting, reporters have been advised. The exchange was concise, and they did not talk about Morgan McSweeney, whom Starmer is now under increasing scrutiny to remove.
Miliband's Reaction
In his morning media interviews, Miliband emphasized the need for the Labour Party to focus on national priorities rather than party divisions.
Look, I think the backgrounding has been unhelpful, without doubt.
But my call to the Labour members now is straightforward, which is we need to concentrate on the country, not our internal matters.
We were given a historic victory last July, a major opportunity to improve our country. And we have a major duty.
Growth News
Meanwhile, government statistics showed the UK economy expanded by just 0.1 percent in the July-September period, with the production sector particularly affected by the recent Jaguar Land Rover cyber-attack.
Today's Agenda
- 9.30am: NHS England releases its latest performance figures
- Today: The Health Secretary visits the Liverpool area
- Today: The Chancellor makes comments to the media
- 11.30am: Number 10 conducts its daily lobby briefing
- Morning: Keir Starmer highlights government plans for the UK's first small modular reactor facility at Wylfa site on the island of Anglesey