Ed Miliband has finally pushed his luck too far. The Energy Secretary, known for his aggressive pursuit of net zero, has now alienated even his key ally Andy Burnham. In one respect, Miliband stands head and shoulders above the rest of the Labour cabinet: he gets things done. While colleagues like Chancellor Rachel Reeves lurch from disaster to disaster, he grabs the wheel and puts his foot down. The net zero transition was timetabled for 2035; Miliband brought it forward five years and hit the gas. Today, he is plastering fertile countryside with wind turbines and solar panels that are not even needed, bulldozing local opposition while yelling 'Nimby' at anyone who objects.
Miliband's Costly Obsessions
Miliband is also chucking tens of billions at vanity projects such as the Great British Energy quango, and billions more at unproven carbon capture technology. He does not care that the money might be better spent defending Britain against Vladimir Putin. He does not care that he is wiping out tens of thousands of jobs in the North Sea oil and gas industry. And he certainly does not feel the need to explain why energy bills, instead of falling by £300 as promised, are soaring. Miliband never looks back; he just screeches ahead.
Power Plays and Backstabbing
There is only one thing he believes in more than net zero: gaining more power for himself. He was willing to shove his brother aside to win the Labour leadership in 2010. Now he is busily plotting against his own boss, from inside the cabinet. One minute he nods and smiles at PM Keir Starmer; the next he is on the phone to Andy Burnham, plotting his path to power. Miliband is a natural-born backstabber. Yesterday, I warned Burnham he should watch his back. Now it looks like he has woken up to the danger.
Burnham's Second Thoughts
Ed Miliband has always been a spectacle—eyes bulging, arms waving. But lately there has been a new glint in his eye. Power has gone to his head. He is relishing his new role as Labour's kingmaker. In return for installing Burnham in Number 10, he has named his price: boot out hapless Rachel Reeves and make him chancellor. As I argued yesterday, that is a terrifying prospect. So terrifying that even Burnham is having second thoughts. Miliband is openly telling people he has the keys to Number 11. Burnham's team is shocked at his presumption. They are also worried about Miliband's net zero obsession. Burnham does not share Miliband's mono-mania; he is more pragmatic, which is the polite way of describing his endless stream of flip-flops and U-turns.
A Reckoning Approaches
The last thing Burnham needs is a Chancellor who careers off in his own madcap direction and refuses to be reined in. Miliband has a reputation for steamrolling cabinet colleagues, even senior ones like the PM or chancellor. He talks them down, eyes bulging, arms waving. And if he does not get his way, he throws a hissy fit until he does, with threats of resignations and worse. If Burnham reaches Number 10, he will have enough on his plate without finding himself strapped screaming in the passenger seat while Miliband ploughs through safety barriers and drives economic policy into a ditch, just as he is doing with energy policy.
Burnham is sounding out more sensible figures to take the role instead. He will not find many of those in Labour. Shabana Mahmood, perhaps. John Healey, maybe. It is a thin list. He might even keep Rachel Reeves, even though she keeps stalling the charabanc. Ed Miliband was always going to go too far, too fast. Would you fancy getting into a car with him? Now his career could be accelerating straight into a brick wall. Let us hope so anyway.
