Energy Secretary Ed Miliband Calls on Labour to Focus Forward Following Starmer Apologises to Wes Streeting for Aggressive Briefings
Senior Labour figure Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has urged the party to put aside party tensions after Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer personally apologised to health minister Wes Streeting MP over damaging media stories coming from the Prime Minister's office.
Major Events
- Miliband confirms the Prime Minister will fire the Downing Street staffer responsible for targeting Wes Streeting if discovered
- Miliband dismisses any party leader plans, stating his previous time as Labour leader was the "most effective vaccine" against desiring the role again
- British economy expanded by just 0.1 percent in the third quarter, impacted by the Jaguar Land Rover security breach
Background
The political unrest started after allegations emerged about hostile briefings from the Prime Minister's team targeting the Health Secretary. Although early attempts to dismiss the situation, the discussion between the PM and Streeting apparently followed a more serious turn.
Starmer expressed regret to Streeting, journalists have been told. The conversation was short, and they did not talk about Morgan McSweeney, whom the PM is now under growing pressure to remove.
The Energy Secretary's Statement
In his early morning media appearances, Miliband highlighted the need for the Labour Party to focus on national issues rather than internal divisions.
Look, I think the media briefing has been unhelpful, certainly.
But my call to the Labour members today is quite simple, which is we need to concentrate on the country, not each other.
We were given a significant mandate last summer, a major opportunity to improve our nation. And we have a major duty.
Economic Update
Separately, government statistics indicated the UK economy grew by just 0.1% in the third quarter, with the manufacturing sector especially affected by the recent Jaguar Land Rover cyber-attack.
The Day's Agenda
- 9.30am: The National Health Service issues its monthly statistics
- Today: Wes Streeting visits Liverpool
- Today: The Chancellor makes comments to the press
- Late morning: Downing Street conducts its regular lobby briefing
- Today: Keir Starmer highlights plans for the Britain's pioneering nuclear power plant at Wylfa site on Anglesey
