Ed Miliband Encourages the Labour Party to Move On Following Keir Starmer Apologises to Streeting for Aggressive Media Leaks
Senior Labour figure Ed Miliband has called for the party to move beyond internal tensions after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer personally expressed regret to Health Secretary Wes Streeting MP over damaging media stories coming from the Prime Minister's office.
Important Updates
- Ed Miliband declares Starmer will fire the Downing Street official behind for targeting Wes Streeting if discovered
- The Energy Secretary dismisses any leadership aspirations, declaring his previous experience as Labour leader was the "best vaccine" against wanting the position again
- UK economy increased by just 0.1 percent in the July-September period, impacted by the JLR hack
Context
The internal controversy erupted after media stories circulated about critical background comments from Starmer's team targeting the Health Secretary. Although early efforts to downplay the incident, the conversation between Starmer and the health minister according to sources followed a different direction.
Starmer said sorry to Streeting, journalists have been told. The exchange was concise, and they did not address the chief of staff, whom Starmer is now under pressure to sack.
The Energy Secretary's Reaction
In his morning media interviews, Miliband stressed the need for the party to direct attention on national issues rather than party disputes.
Clearly, I think the briefing has been bad, no question.
But my advice to the Labour party now is quite simple, which is we need to prioritize the country, not each other.
We were given a significant victory last July, a historic chance to transform our country. And we have a serious responsibility.
Growth Update
Separately, official figures indicated the British economy expanded by just 0.1% in the third quarter, with the manufacturing sector especially affected by the recent JLR cyber-attack.
Today's Agenda
- 9.30am: The National Health Service releases its monthly statistics
- Today: Wes Streeting visits the Liverpool area
- Today: Rachel Reeves speaks to the press
- Late morning: Downing Street conducts its daily media briefing
- Morning: Keir Starmer highlights government plans for the Britain's pioneering small modular reactor project at Wylfa on the island of Anglesey
