Senior Labour official Energy Secretary Ed Miliband has called for the party to leave behind party conflicts after Prime Minister Keir Starmer personally apologised to health minister Wes Streeting over negative leaked comments originating from the Prime Minister's office.
Key Developments
- Miliband declares Starmer will sack the No 10 official responsible for targeting Wes Streeting if found
- The Energy Secretary rules out future party leader ambitions, stating his previous experience as Labour leader was the "strongest protection" against wanting the role again
- British economy grew by just 0.1 percent in the third quarter, affected by the JLR security breach
Situation
The internal turmoil began after allegations circulated about negative briefings from Starmer's allies targeting Streeting. Despite early efforts to downplay the incident, the discussion between Starmer and Streeting apparently followed a more serious turn.
Starmer apologised to Wes Streeting, the media have been told. The conversation was concise, and they did not discuss Morgan McSweeney, whom Starmer is now under increasing scrutiny to dismiss.
The Energy Secretary's Reaction
In his early morning media interviews, Ed Miliband stressed the need for the Labour Party to direct attention on country-wide priorities rather than internal divisions.
Clearly, I think the backgrounding has been bad, without doubt.
But my advice to the party now is quite simple, which is we need to prioritize the nation, not each other.
We were given a historic victory last July, a important opportunity to improve our country. And we have a serious duty.
Growth Update
Separately, official statistics revealed the UK economy increased by just 0.1 percent in the third quarter, with the industrial sector especially impacted by the recent JLR hack.
The Day's Agenda
- 9.30am: NHS England publishes its latest statistics
- Morning: Wes Streeting visits Liverpool
- Today: Rachel Reeves speaks to the media
- 11.30am: Downing Street conducts its regular lobby briefing
- Today: Keir Starmer promotes government plans for the UK's pioneering nuclear power plant at Wylfa site on the island of Anglesey
