Thomas Lupo
Ed Miliband will support Andy Burnham’s expected challenge to Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership on the understanding that he will become Chancellor if Mr Burnham wins, Labour MPs have told The Mail on Sunday.
The Burnham supporters claim the Energy Secretary, who has led the Government’s fiercely unpopular Net Zero drive, will join Angela Rayner in Mr Burnham’s campaign team if he runs against the Prime Minister this year.
It came as Health Secretary Wes Streeting – who is regarded by Mr Burnham’s supporters as his only credible opponent – was at the centre of an explosive new briefing row with No10.
In the wake of reports that Sir Keir was being urged by Cabinet ministers to sack Mr Streeting for ‘disloyalty’ – with Tory leader Kemi Badenoch’s pre-emptive sacking of Robert Jenrick before his defection to Reform cited as the supposed inspiration – an ally of Mr Streeting hit back.
He said: ‘We have a good story to tell about what the Government achieved this week and it’s baffling that No10 have decided at this moment to try and launch us back into civil war.’
The Prime Minister is widely expected to face a challenge after May’s local elections, which on current polling trends will prove disastrous for Labour.
Appointing Mr Miliband as Chancellor would be a central plank of the ‘shock therapy’ which Mr Burnham’s supporters say he intends to introduce if he wins No10.
The combined cost of Mr Miliband’s climate measures – including wind farms, solar panels, green heating systems and upgrades to roads and railways – is estimated to exceed £4.5trillion over the next 25 years, including an estimated £585billion from households to pay for the move away from boilers towards eco–friendly heat pumps.
Mr Burnham has been searching for a safe Labour seat in the North to allow him to enter the Commons and challenge Sir Keir. His Commons allies have told the MoS they have found a seat which will come free in the coming months, and which polling suggests that Mr Burnham, the so-called ‘King Of The North’, would win.
The seat was not identified, but Mr Burnham has been keeping a close eye on the Manchester seat held by Andrew Gwynne, who has been suspended from the Labour Party for sending racist and sexist messages. Mr Gwynne has repeatedly insisted that he does not plan to stand down.
Sources close to Mr Miliband dismissed reports he had done a deal to become Mr Burnham’s Chancellor as ‘absolute nonsense’ and ‘categorically not true’.
Mr Burnham has also been encouraging Labour backbenchers to rebel against the proposed Hillsborough Law, which will give the security services ‘permission to lie’.
The bill is designed to impose a legal duty on public officials to act truthfully and support investigations into the state to ensure wrongdoing is not concealed, but the Prime Minister is facing a Labour rebellion in a Commons debate tomorrow after concerns were raised about security services being exempt.
Yesterday Mr Burnham called on the Government to withdraw the opt-out, saying: ‘An important part of strengthening the country’s defences is establishing the truth at the earliest opportunity.’
The Times yesterday quoted one minister as saying Sir Keir should emulate Mrs Badenoch’s sacking of Mr Jenrick by removing Mr Streeting because he was ‘undermining all of us’ in government and ‘repeatedly breaching collective responsibility’.
But an ally of the Health Secretary said: ‘It’s a real shame that Keir’s so-called allies are briefing against Wes yet again, when they should be talking about the second biggest fall in waiting lists in 15 years, and ambulances arriving 15 minutes faster with Labour.
‘Given Reform and the Tories are at each other’s throats right now, this briefing is also incredibly stupid. Wes is delivering real change in the NHS, and is out there making the case for Keir and for Labour.’
Mr Streeting has previously condemned the ‘toxic culture’ in No10 after briefing against him was reported in November.
After a string of embarrassing policy U-turns by the Government – the most recent being on business rates for pubs and digital ID cards – Mr Streeting told a conference last week that ministers should make it their new year’s resolution to ‘get it right first time’.
He has also put pressure on the PM to rejoin a customs union with the EU after Mr Streeting said the arrangement had ‘enormous economic benefits’.
However, the ally said it was ‘nonsense’ that Mr Streeting was preparing to launch a leadership bid. He said: ‘Wes’s total focus has been on getting the NHS through this difficult time.’
The ally hit out at No10 for apparently choosing the moment when Labour’s opponents were ‘in chaos’ to brief again against the Health Secretary. And he challenged Sir Keir to deal with whoever was responsible, saying: ‘Keir does now need to stamp out the toxic briefing culture in No10.
‘It’s been an ongoing problem since we were in Opposition. It creates a terrible atmosphere in government. If it’s people out there doing this briefing without Keir’s say so, I imagine he will be furious and will want to get rid of them.’
Source: Dailymail.co.uk | Read the Full Story…
