Ed Miliband, the Foreign Secretary, is set for a frosty reception in Washington, where he will meet senior Trump administration officials. The former Labour leader has been given a new nickname, "Miliwatt," a pointed reference to the negligible power generated by his policies as Energy Secretary.
Miliband's diplomatic tightrope
Miliband arrives to urge the White House to secure a lasting ceasefire in Iran and reopen the Strait of Hormuz, aiming to ease financial pressures on UK families. However, his past comments about President Trump, including calling him a “racist, misogynistic self-confessed groper” and saying he had “lowered the bar for idiocy," are likely to be remembered.
His appointment has been met with derision by the Make America Great Again movement, which sees him as a "worthy hand-wringer" who prioritises political correctness and heat pumps. Sources in Washington reportedly express "genuine anger" over his appointment.
Past criticism and current mission
Miliband has been scathing about Trump in the past, urging resistance to "the worst of Trumpism" and calling his election "dark days for America and the world." He also joined a Stop Trump March in London. When pressed on these comments, Miliband dismissed them as "irrelevant," adding, "I genuinely don't think that Donald Trump is reading my tweets."
His first meeting is with US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, where he will demand the reopening of the Strait of Hormuz as essential to easing cost-of-living pressures on British families. However, Rubio may question why Labour resisted help with America's war in Iran.
