Energy Secretary Ed Miliband Encourages Labour to Focus Forward After Starmer Offers Apology to Streeting for Aggressive Briefings
High-ranking Labour figure Ed Miliband has urged the party to leave behind party conflicts after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer directly said sorry to Health Secretary Wes Streeting MP over negative media stories linked to the Prime Minister's office.
Major Developments
- Ed Miliband declares Starmer will sack the No 10 staffer behind for targeting Streeting if discovered
- The Energy Secretary dismisses future party leader plans, stating his past time as Labour leader was the "strongest inoculation" against seeking the role again
- British economic growth expanded by just 0.1% in the July-September period, hit by the JLR security breach
Background
The internal unrest started after reports circulated about critical briefings from Starmer's supporters targeting the Health Secretary. Although early efforts to downplay the incident, the talk between the PM and Streeting apparently followed a different direction.
Starmer said sorry to Wes Streeting, reporters have been informed. The discussion was concise, and they did not talk about the chief of staff, whom the PM is now under growing pressure to remove.
Miliband's Statement
In his morning media appearances, Ed Miliband stressed the need for the Labour Party to concentrate on national priorities rather than internal divisions.
Look, I think the briefing has been unhelpful, without doubt.
But my advice to the Labour members today is quite simple, which is we need to prioritize the public, not our internal matters.
We were given a significant victory last summer, a major opportunity to transform our nation. And we have a serious responsibility.
Economic Update
In other news, official data revealed the UK economic performance expanded by just 0.1% in the July-September period, with the production sector especially affected by the recently reported JLR cyber-attack.
The Day's Schedule
- Morning: NHS England publishes its monthly performance figures
- Morning: Wes Streeting visits the Liverpool area
- Morning: Rachel Reeves makes comments to the press
- 11.30am: Number 10 conducts its daily lobby briefing
- Morning: Keir Starmer announces government plans for the Britain's pioneering small modular reactor project at Wylfa site on Anglesey
