Prime Minister and Energy Secretary used to be the best of friends, but now they’ve fallen out in a big way, writes Jonathan Walker
Ed Miliband pledges to go ‘further and faster’ on clean power
Keir Starmer has finally announced his long-awaited defence investment plan. It means defence funding will increase from £54billion a year in 2024 to almost £80billion a year by 2029.
There will be £5billion to equip the UK with drones, which have been used extensively in the war between Russia and Ukraine, as well as £790million to develop ways of protecting the UK from drones and missiles.
But where is all the cash coming from? Sir Keir’s announcement had a real sting in the tail. He said some road and energy projects will be cancelled or delayed to help provide the funding. And that’s a blow to the politician who used to be one of his best friends in politics – Energy Secretary Ed Miliband.
Ed Miliband and Keir Starmer in happier times (Image: Getty)
Sir Keir said: “So the hard truth is there are no easy answers, but the settlement I’m setting out today is the right choice for the country.
“It delivers the decisive action we need on defence in a way that is within our fiscal rules and that will not take resources away from day-to-day spending on frontline services like health and education.
“Instead, it is funded by reallocating spending from across government departments, reallocating capital budgets by one penny in every pound, while still maintaining public investment at the highest sustained levels since the 1970s.”
He added: “Therefore, some capital projects, for example on roads and energy, which are important but not immediately vital, will no longer go ahead as planned.”
Mr Miliband has a dream of transforming the UK’s energy supplies to use “green” energy, such as wind power and solar panels.
It’s a laudable aim, if only it were pursued in a sensible manner. At the moment, we still use fossil fuels – but for some reason, Mr Miliband seems happier to import gas from Norway rather than drilling for it ourselves.
But now, he’s suffered a huge blow. In one of his final acts as Prime Minister, Sir Keir Starmer has raided Ed Miliband’s piggy bank and used the cash to buy weapons instead.
The two politicians used to be great friends. Ed helped Sir Keir become an MP in the first place, supporting Starmer’s efforts to be selected as a Labour candidate.
But it all went wrong when Mr Miliband decided it was time for Sir Keir to resign, and transferred his loyalties to wannabe PM Andy Burnham instead.
Mr Burnham may reward Mr Miliband by making him chancellor. We’ll have to wait and see, because our incoming prime minister refuses to reveal his plans.
But Sir Keir has had his revenge.