Senior Labour Party official Ed Miliband has called for the party to move beyond party conflicts after Prime Minister Keir Starmer personally apologised to Health Secretary Wes Streeting over hostile briefings originating from Number 10.
Major Updates
- Ed Miliband states the Prime Minister will fire the Downing Street staffer responsible for attacking Streeting if found
- Miliband dismisses future leadership aspirations, stating his previous experience as Labour leader was the "strongest inoculation" against desiring the position again
- British economic growth grew by just 0.1 percent in the third quarter, affected by the JLR cyber-attack
Context
The political controversy began after allegations emerged about negative briefings from the Prime Minister's team targeting Streeting. Although early efforts to downplay the matter, the conversation between Starmer and the health minister according to sources followed a different turn.
Starmer said sorry to Streeting, journalists have been advised. The conversation was short, and they did not discuss the chief of staff, whom Starmer is now under increasing scrutiny to dismiss.
The Energy Secretary's Reaction
In his early morning media appearances, Miliband emphasized the need for the party to concentrate on national priorities rather than internal disputes.
Clearly, I think the backgrounding has been unhelpful, without doubt.
But my advice to the party now is clear, which is we need to focus on the public, not each other.
We were given a major victory last July, a historic opportunity to transform our nation. And we have a historic duty.
Growth Update
Separately, official data indicated the UK economic performance increased by just 0.1 percent in the July-September period, with the production industry especially impacted by the recently reported JLR hack.
The Day's Agenda
- 9.30am: The National Health Service publishes its latest data
- Morning: Wes Streeting is visiting Liverpool
- Today: Rachel Reeves speaks to the media
- 11.30am: Number 10 conducts its regular lobby briefing
- Today: Keir Starmer highlights plans for the UK's pioneering small modular reactor plant at Wylfa site on the island of Anglesey
