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Keir Starmer takes to Labour’s conference stage today on a mission to recast his nascent government’s image.
The prime minister, forsaking much of the “doom and gloom” that has tyrannised Labour messaging in recent weeks, will pledge to “build a new Britain.”
He will justify the tough decisions his government plans to take, and has taken, by pointing to “light at the end of the tunnel”. Short-term pain, Starmer is expected to say, will precipitate “long-term gain.”
“I changed the Labour Party to restore it to the service of working people”, Starmer will attest in one especially instructive passage. “And that is exactly what we will do for Britain. But I will not do it with easy answers. I will not do it with false hope”.
In recent weeks, Starmer has blithely gifted ammunition to his political opponents and hostile media organisations. But today is an opportunity for the PM to restate his claim to the prevailing political narrative and engender a broader mood recalibration. Oh, and he’ll almost certainly need a few lines to fend off protesters — like the individual who accosted chancellor Rachel Reeves on Monday.
Today then: more on the government’s attempts to reset the political agenda — and why one individual, someone still considered to be hidden away by the Labour leadership, could prove useful indeed. My thoughts below.
The return of ‘Red Ed?’
Before Sue Gray, there was Ed Miliband. The prime minister’s chief of staff is the latest object of Labour insiders’ unsparing antipathy, if recent briefings are anything to go by. But Keir Starmer’s supposed Svengali is far from the first.
Miliband, the energy security and net zero secretary, blazed this dismal trail. From 2021 to 2024, reports were filed at alarming regular intervals suggesting relations between Miliband’s office and Starmer’s were irrevocably sour. Certainly, Labour insiders’ penchant for confecting and/or exposing competition between public servants is by no means unprecedented.
The constant churn of criticism from LOTO’s Miliband-sceptic set meant the ex-Labour leader was oft-touted as Starmer’s most sackable spokesperson. But not only did Starmer refuse to dismiss Miliband — the man who convinced him to enter frontline politics in 2014/15; rather, the Labour leader placed Miliband at the head of the party’s “clean energy superpower” mission and later granted him his coveted climate brief in government.
But there is little disguising the fact that Miliband, despite his mainstay status in Starmer’s top team, hasn’t assumed the prominence of many of his colleagues. Rachel Reeves, of course, can effectively be viewed as an equal partner in the Starmer project, alongside its namesake. Meanwhile, home secretary Yvette Cooper, foreign secretary David Lammy, health secretary Wes Streeting and business secretary Jonathan Reynolds are all regulars across the media and are, consequently, viewed more and more as integral to the government.
Miliband’s status as the leader of a major department is somewhat liminal, therefore: he is present in Whitehall but not always involved on the political frontline. During the election campaign, undoubtedly, the man once maligned as “Red Ed” was not seen as an asset by Starmer’s strategists.
On top of this, the former Labour leader also stands out as an individual who hasn’t made significant political, strategic or philosophical compromises as a member of Starmer’s top team. For sure, he has lost internal battles, notably over his plan to invest £28 billion a year into green energy (to Reeves). But Miliband’s public visions have hardly altered since he penned his 2021 treatise, GO BIG: How To Fix Our World — his post-leadership ode to economic and climate radicalism.
Staying true to the title of his book, Miliband has proved by far and away the most energetic cabinet minister since Labour entered government on 5th July. Already, the de facto onshore wind ban has been lifted by his department, the publicly-owned GB Energy has been launched, and the construction of three giant three major solar farms has been approved.
(One wonders if Starmer’s top team has proved hesitant to foreground these successes because of a pervasive Miliband-scepticism. Given Starmer is currently struggling to tell a compelling story about his government’s early actions, it would be a profound misjudgement if so.)
Over recent weeks, Starmer’s inner circle has been the subject of much internal criticism for failing, while in opposition, to compile a plan that might help Labour navigate the immediate administrative and/or political challenges associated with government. But the same charge cannot be levelled at Miliband, who has spent his first few months in power realising his long-unfulfilled aspirations — and staring down their recalcitrant critics.
Perhaps it was unsurprising then, that Miliband struck a decidedly upbeat tone in his address to Labour conference on Monday. “I want to thank each and every one of you for the work you did at the election to sweep away the Tories that failed the British people over 14 long, wasted years”, the energy secretary began.
“The governments of Cameron, May, Johnson, Truss, Sunak consigned to the dustbin of history thanks to your hard work.”
He turned quickly to policy: “Just look at what your Labour government has been able to do on energy in a few short weeks. The onshore wind ban in place for 9 years under the Tories, swept away in 72 hours under Labour.
“Cheap, clean solar power, blocked for years under the Tories, unlocked in the first week of a Labour government. Offshore wind trashed under the Tories, roaring back under Labour with the most successful renewable auction in history.”
He added: “Great British Energy, demanded by this conference, at the heart of our manifesto, overwhelmingly backed by the public now being delivered by your Labour government. That’s the difference a Labour government makes. And friends, my message today is this:
“We’ve only just started. Of course, the country faces hard times. There is no doubt the Tories have left Britain in a complete mess. But hear me when I say this — because we are Labour, tough times mean we don’t lower our sights, we raise them. That’s the difference a Labour government makes.”
The speech singles out Miliband as a genuinely canny messenger — contrary to the general consensus at Westminster. He comfortably hit the notes of optimism that his (more esteemed) Labour colleagues have reached for at pains over recent days.
Reeves, for her part, did a pretty commendable job in her conference address on Monday. “We must deal with the Tory legacy and that means tough decisions. But we won’t let that dim our ambition for Britain”, she told activists.
Still, it goes without saying that lofty optimism isn’t really Reeves’ premier calling card. In opposition, the now-chancellor mastered the art of eviscerating the Conservatives’ alleged economic mismanagement and, in government, has served as Labour’s lead “black hole” spokesperson.
It is expected and right that a government will have different spokespeople, beholden to contrasting styles and reputations, giving voice to complementary messages. Wes Streeting, for instance, is an effective communicator because he is a creative communicator — a fact that is regularly evinced at the Conservatives’ dear expense. Angela Rayner, meanwhile, has established herself as an effective bridge between the Labour leadership and the trade unions. Jonathan Reynolds, conversely but harmoniously, seems well-suited to the frontline of Labour’s Prawn Cocktail Offensive.
Of course, no cabinet minister or spokesperson is this explicitly pigeonholed. But different styles speak to different strengths; and it follows that no one in Labour can do upbeat messaging as well as Miliband. (His post-leadership hobby, remember, was co-founding a podcast called “Reasons to be Cheerful”.)
Miliband may alienate some, both within Labour and the country at large: he is an easily recognisable, and failed, former party leader. A recent Politico profile described Miliband as “Britain’s most divisive government minister”.
But the energy secretary appears, at the very least, to be popular among the people that count for Starmer right now. Polling for Politico, conducted by Savanta, shows Miliband is well-liked among Labour voters, boasting a net favourability score of +25. But more broadly than this: according to YouGov, Miliband is actually more popular than Rayner, Cooper and, yes, the prime minister.
In this way, the justifications for keeping Miliband off the political frontline and locked in DESNZ, furiously approving planning applications for solar farms, have melted away.
The bottom line is this: in government, Labour has so far struggled to hit the ground running. Chaos without Ed Miliband reigns. At this juncture, Starmer needs some successes to enthusiastically cite — and the Department for Energy Security and Net Zero would seem full of them.
Bereft of a clear purpose, therefore, the prime minister could do far worse than re-embracing the green energy mission once viewed as at Starmerism’s core. In turn, Miliband’s return to do public battle is, ultimately, overdue.
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Starmer is speaking the language of austerity, says John McDonnell
Lunchtime soundbite
‘It is really exciting because if you get those political priorities, that political agreement, you can take the public with you on that journey.’
— At a Labour conference fringe event on how to achieve economic growth, chief secretary to the Treasury Darren Jones responds “Yes” when asked if there is room to be “radical” in the budget. Via The Telegraph.
Now try this…
‘Keir Starmer’s victory party turns sour’
From Politico’s Esther Webber.
‘Reeves could change fiscal rules to allow more capital spending, say sources’
The Guardian reports.
‘Get a grip’: why has the UK’s Labour government been so bad at politics’
Via the FT. (Paywall)
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