Ed Miliband has finally united the Labour Party and the country. Against him.

Energy secretary Ed Miliband is whipping up a cabinet revolt – against him (Image: Getty)
The last time Britain felt this strongly about Miliband was during the 2015 election, when voters decided en masse that he wasn’t fit to be PM. That was the right call then, and it looks even better today, now that we’ve seen him in action. This man shouldn’t be anywhere near power. He should be waving a placard in a street somewhere, not running a government department. Even this hopeless Labour government is waking up to the damage he’s doing. And now they’re trying to stop him.
Yesterday it was former Labour PM Sir Tony Blair sounding the alarm. He tore into Miliband’s accelerated net zero drive and decision to block new North Sea oil and gas drilling. Blair thinks Miliband is deluded if he believes Britain can solve climate change alone when we produce less than 1% of global emissions. Blair isn’t alone. Chancellor Rachel Reeves has openly humiliated Miliband by calling for more drilling.
Keir Starmer isn’t happy either. He tried to sack Miliband last year, before making yet another humiliating U-turn. Miliband remains popular with Labour’s hard-left activist base, and Starmer is terrified of them. But now the PM has another reason to act.
Miliband lives in a fantasy world. His claims simply don’t stack up. During the election, he insisted his net zero charge would create 600,000 jobs and cut household energy bills by £300. Instead, it’s destroying jobs and businesses at a terrifying rate, and adding hundreds of pounds to our gas and electricity costs.
He also keeps claiming new North Sea drilling won’t cut bills. That’s dishonest because it ignores the wider economic benefits of domestic oil and gas production. Jobs, tax revenues, exports, a better balance of payments, stronger pound, lower inflation and greater energy security. Lower emissions too.
Despite all those benefits, Miliband would rather we import oil and gas from abroad. Even if it means buying it from Vladimir Putin and funding his murderous war regime, which is peak Ed Miliband madness. As if all that wasn’t enough, he’s also a serial backstabber.
Right now, he’s openly manoeuvring against Starmer while desperately trying to jemmy Andy Burnham into No 10. In doing so, he’s inflaming Labour’s growing civil war. This time, he may finally have overplayed his hand.
Labour activists adore Miliband because they see him as a man of principle, even if his main principle appears to be wiping tens of billions off Britain’s economy. But the cabinet is now revolting.
According to The Times, Starmer is under mounting pressure to torpedo net zero. Ministers are lining up against Miliband, furious at his refusal to acknowledge the economic benefits of domestic oil and gas production. Blair’s intervention has strengthened their hand. Ministers are sick of hearing Miliband insist drilling “won’t take a penny off bills” while ignoring all the wider benefits it would bring.
And here’s what’s really changed. Normally, Starmer caves to Miliband. Not having any opinions of his own, he caves into those with the strongest view, which is usually Red Ed. But with Miliband now in open revolt, even our weak-kneed PM is preparing to take a stand.
Miliband has finally gone too far. If Starmer had any authority, he’d sack him today. That may be too much to ask. But the revolt has started, and this time Miliband had better watch his own back. His enemies are growing in strength. And they’re coming for him. That’s something we can all unite behind.
