Ed Miliband has intensified divisions within the Labour Party by publicly rebuking Cabinet rival Wes Streeting during a Sky News interview. The exchange follows a turbulent period where Sir Keir Starmer steadied support among MPs, staving off an immediate leadership threat.
Miliband emphasized that Starmer’s position holds if he embraces the ongoing shift and rebuilds ties with the public. “I want to be clear… I know we have a Herculean task to reconnect with viewers and move on from this episode. Lots of people in the country will be incredibly angry about what’s happened,” the Energy Secretary stated.
Defense of Chancellor Reeves
Miliband addressed text messages from Streeting that criticized Chancellor Rachel Reeves for lacking a growth strategy. He dismissed the remarks, saying, “Rachel has done a very good job as Chancellor. I don’t agree with it—I haven’t seen the detail of the messages—but we’ve seen the stability that’s essential, and that’s because of the decisions Rachel made.”
Leadership Ambitions Surface
Responding to Streeting’s claim that Labour lacks a clear answer to “why Labour,” Miliband offered a direct response: “I know the answer to that question, which is for too long this country has been run for the wealthy and powerful, and that needs to change.”
Pressed on progress under Starmer, Miliband replied, “Not enough. The job for all of us is to work out how to be bolder… For nearly 20 years, we’ve had a long-standing cost of living crisis—not just a few years when Russia invaded Ukraine and bills went through the roof. People are hurting, and leadership is a collective business to rise to that challenge.”
