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Ed Miliband | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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_2.jpg) Official portrait, 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero[a] | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 5 July 2024 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Claire Coutinho | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 3 October 2008 – 11 May 2010 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | Gordon Brown | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Office established | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Chris Huhne | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leader of the Opposition | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 25 September 2010 – 8 May 2015 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Monarch | Elizabeth II | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Prime Minister | David Cameron | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Deputy | Harriet Harman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Harriet Harman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Harriet Harman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Leader of the Labour Party | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 25 September 2010 – 8 May 2015 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Deputy | Harriet Harman | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Gordon Brown[b] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Jeremy Corbyn[c] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Member of Parliament forDoncaster North | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 5 May 2005 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Kevin Hughes | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Majority | 9,126 (29.4%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | Edward Samuel Miliband (1969-12-24)24 December 1969 (age 55) London, England | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Political party | Labour | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spouse | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Children | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Parent(s) | Ralph Miliband Marion Kozak | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Relatives | David Miliband (brother) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Education | Corpus Christi College, Oxford (BA) London School of Economics (MSc) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Signature |  | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Website | www | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Edward Samuel Miliband (born 24 December 1969) is a British politician who has served asSecretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero since July 2024.[2] He has beenMember of Parliament (MP) forDoncaster North since 2005. Miliband wasLeader of the Labour Party andLeader of the Opposition from 2010 to 2015. Alongside his brother,David Miliband, he served in theCabinet from 2007 to 2010 under Prime MinisterGordon Brown.[3]
Miliband was born in theFitzrovia district ofCentral London toMarion Kozak andRalph Miliband,Polish Jewish immigrants. His father was aMarxist intellectual and native ofBrussels who fledBelgium during theSecond World War. He graduated fromCorpus Christi College, Oxford and later from theLondon School of Economics. Miliband became first a television journalist, then a Labour Party researcher and a visiting scholar atHarvard University, before rising to become one ofChancellor Gordon Brown's confidants and chairman ofHM Treasury's Council of Economic Advisers. He was elected to theHouse of Commons in 2005 and Prime MinisterTony Blair made himMinister for the Third Sector in May 2006. When Brown became Prime Minister in 2007, he appointed MilibandMinister for the Cabinet Office andChancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster. Miliband was subsequently promoted to the new post ofSecretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, a position he held from 2008 to 2010.
After the Labour Party was defeated at the2010 general election, Brown resigned as Leader of the Labour Party; in September 2010, Miliband waselected to replace him. Histenure as Labour leader was characterised by a leftward shift in his party's policies under the "One Nation Labour" branding, and by opposition to theConservative–Liberal Democrat coalition government's cuts to thepublic sector. Miliband also abolished theelectoral college system to elect the leader and deputy leader of the Labour Party, and replaced it with a "one member, one vote" system in 2014. He led his party into several elections, including the2014 European Parliament election.
Following Labour's defeat by theConservative Party at the2015 general election, Miliband resigned as leader on 8 May 2015. He was succeeded followinga leadership election byJeremy Corbyn, and returned to the backbenches. In 2020,Keir Starmer appointed MilibandShadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy, and laterShadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero in 2021. Following Labour's victory in the2024 general election, Miliband returned to government after being appointed Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero by Starmer.
Ed Miliband was born on 24 December 1969 inUniversity College Hospital inFitzrovia,London. He is the son of immigrant parents,Belgian-bornMarxist sociologistRalph Miliband and Polish-bornMarion Kozak, both fromPolish Jewish families.[4][5][6] His mother, a human rights campaigner and earlyCND member, survivedthe Holocaust thanks to beingprotected by Catholic Poles, but her father, Ed's maternal grandfather, did not.[4][7] His father Ralph was aMarxist academic whose father fled with him to England during theSecond World War.[8][9] The family lived on Edis Street inPrimrose Hill, London. His elder brother,David Miliband, still owns the house as of 2010.[10]
Ralph Miliband left his academic post at theLondon School of Economics in 1972 to take up a chair at theUniversity of Leeds as a professor of politics. His family moved to Leeds with him in 1973; Miliband attended Featherbank Infant School inHorsforth between 1974 and 1977, during which time he became a fan ofLeeds United.[11]
Owing to his father's later employment as a roving teacher, Miliband spent two spells living inBoston,Massachusetts, one year when he was seven and onemiddle school term when he was twelve.[12] Miliband remembered his time in the US as some of his happiest, during which he became a fan of American culture, watchingDallas[5] and following theBoston Red Sox[13] and theNew England Patriots.[14]
Between 1978 and 1981, Ed Miliband attended Primrose Hill Primary School, nearPrimrose Hill inCamden, and then from 1981 to 1989 atHaverstock Comprehensive School inChalk Farm. He learned to play the violin while at school,[15] and as a teenager he reviewed films and plays onLBC Radio'sYoung London programme as one of its fortnightly "Three O'Clock Reviewers". After completing hisO-levels, he worked as an intern to family friendTony Benn, theMP forChesterfield.[16]
In 1989, Miliband gained fourA Levels—in Mathematics (A), English (A), Further Mathematics (B) and Physics (B)—and then readPhilosophy, Politics and Economics atCorpus Christi College, Oxford. In his first year, he was electedJCR President, leading a student campaign against a rise in rent charges. In his second year he dropped philosophy and was awarded anupper-second-classBachelor of Arts degree. He went on to graduate from the London School of Economics as aMaster of Science in Economics.[15]
In 1992, after graduating from the University of Oxford, Miliband began his working career in the media as aresearcher to co-presenterAndrew Rawnsley in theChannel 4 showA Week in Politics.[17] In 1993,Shadow Chief Secretary to the TreasuryHarriet Harman approached Rawnsley to recruit Miliband as her policy researcher and speechwriter.[18] At the time,Yvette Cooper also worked for Harman as part of Labour's Shadow Treasury team.
In 1994, when Harriet Harman was moved by thenewly electedLabour LeaderTony Blair to becomeShadow Secretary of State for Employment, Miliband stayed on in the Shadow Treasury team and was promoted to work forShadow ChancellorGordon Brown.[19] In 1995, with encouragement from Gordon Brown, Miliband took time out from his job to study at theLondon School of Economics, where he obtained a master's degree in economics.[15] Following Labour's1997 landslide victory, Miliband was appointed as aspecial adviser toChancellor Gordon Brown from 1997 to 2002.[20]
On 25 July 2002, it was announced that Miliband would take a 12-month unpaidsabbatical from HM Treasury to be avisiting scholar at the Center for European Studies ofHarvard University for twosemesters.[21] He spent his time at Harvard teaching economics,[22] and stayed there after September 2003 for an additional semester teaching a course titled "What's Left? The Politics of Social Justice".[23] During this time, he was granted "access" toSenatorJohn Kerry and reported to Brown on the presidential hopeful's progress.[24] After Miliband returned to the UK in January 2004 Gordon Brown appointed him Chairman of HM Treasury's Council of Economic Advisers as a replacement forEd Balls, with specific responsibility for directing the UK's long-term economic planning.[25]
In early 2005, Miliband resigned his advisory role to HM Treasury to stand for election.Kevin Hughes, then the Labour MP forDoncaster North, announced in February of that year that he would be standing down at the next election due to being diagnosed withmotor neurone disease. Miliband applied for selection to be thecandidate in the safe Labour seat and won, beating off a close challenge fromMichael Dugher, then aSPAD toDefence SecretaryGeoff Hoon.[26]
Gordon Brown visited Doncaster North during the general election campaign to support his former adviser.[27] Miliband was elected on5 May 2005, with 55.5% of the vote and a majority of 12,656.[28][29] He made hismaiden speech in theHouse of Commons on 23 May, responding to comments made by futureSpeakerJohn Bercow.[30] In Blair's frontbench reshuffle in May 2006, he was madeMinister for the Third Sector, with responsibility for voluntary and charity organisations.[31][32]
On 28 June 2007, the day after Brown becamePrime Minister, Miliband was sworn of thePrivy Council and appointedMinister for the Cabinet Office andChancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, being promoted to thecabinet.[33] This meant that he and his brother,Foreign Secretary David Miliband, became the first brothers to serve in a British cabinet sinceEdward andOliver Stanley in 1938.[34] He was additionally given the task of drafting Labour's manifesto for the2010 general election.[35]
On 3 October 2008, Miliband was promoted to becomeSecretary of State for the newly createdDepartment of Energy and Climate Change in a cabinet reshuffle.[36] On 16 October, Miliband announced that the British government would legislate to oblige itself to cutgreenhouse emissions by 80% by 2050, rather than the 60% cut in carbon dioxide emissions previously announced.[37]
In March 2009, while Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change, Miliband attended the UK premiere of climate change filmThe Age of Stupid, where he was ambushed by actorPete Postlethwaite, who threatened to return hisOBE and vote for any party other than Labour if theKingsnorth coal-fired power station were to be given the go-ahead by the government.[38] A month later, Miliband announced to the House of Commons a change to the government's policy oncoal-fired power stations, saying that any potential new coal-fired power stations would be unable to receive government consent unless they could demonstrate that they would be able to effectively capture and bury 25% of the emissions they produce immediately, with a view to seeing that rise to 100% of emissions by 2025. This, a government source toldthe Guardian, effectively represented "a complete rewrite of UK energy policy for the future".[39]
Miliband represented the UK at the 2009Copenhagen Summit, from which emerged a global commitment to provide an additional US$10 billion a year to fight the effects ofclimate change, with an additional $100 billion a year provided by 2020.[40] The conference was not able to achieve a legally binding agreement. Miliband accused China of deliberately foiling attempts at a binding agreement; China explicitly denied this, accusing British politicians of engaging in a "political scheme".[41]
During the2009 parliamentary expenses scandal, Miliband was named by theDaily Telegraph as one of the "saints" of the scandal, due to his claiming one of the lowest amounts of expenses in the House of Commons and submitting no claims that later had to be paid back.[42]
Following theformation of theConservative–Liberal Democrat coalition government on 11 May 2010, Gordon Brown resigned asPrime Minister of the United Kingdom andLeader of the Labour Party with immediate effect.Deputy Leader Harriet Harman took over as Acting Leader and becameLeader of the Opposition. On 14 May, Miliband announced that he would stand as a candidate in theforthcoming leadership election.[43] He launched his campaign during a speech given at aFabian Society conference and was nominated by 62 fellow Labour MPs. The other candidates were left-wing backbencherDiane Abbott,Shadow Education SecretaryEd Balls,Shadow Health SecretaryAndy Burnham and Miliband's elder brother,Shadow Foreign Secretary David Miliband.[44][45]
On 23 May, former Labour leaderNeil Kinnock announced that he would endorse Ed Miliband's campaign, saying that he had "the capacity to inspire people" and that he had "strong values and the ability to 'lift' people".[46] Other senior Labour figures who backed the younger Miliband includedTony Benn and former deputy leadersRoy Hattersley andMargaret Beckett. By 9 June, the deadline for entry into the leadership election, Miliband had been nominated by just over 24% of theParliamentary Labour Party, double the threshold. By September, Miliband had received the support of six trade unions, including bothUnite andUNISON, 151 of 650Constituency Labour Parties, three affiliated socialist societies, and half of LabourMEPs.[47]
Miliband subsequently won the election, the result of which was announced on 25 September 2010, after second, third and fourth preferences votes were counted, achieving the support of 50.654% of the electoral college, defeating his brother by 1.3%.[48] In the fourth and final stage of the redistribution of votes after three candidates had been eliminated, Ed Miliband led in the trade unions and affiliated organisations section of the electoral college (19.93% of the total to David's 13.40%), but in both the MPs and MEPs section (15.52% to 17.81%), and Constituency Labour Party section (15.20% to 18.14%), came second. In the final round, Ed Miliband won with a total of 175,519 votes to David's 147,220 votes.[49]
Miliband's tenure as Labour leader was characterised by a leftward shift in his party's policies under theOne Nation Labour branding which replaced theNew Labour branding, and by opposition to the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition government's cuts to thepublic sector. Miliband also abolished theelectoral college system to elect the leader and deputy leader of the Labour Party, and replaced it with a "one member, one vote" system in 2014.
The firstelection to the Shadow Cabinet that took place under Miliband's leadership was on 7 October 2010. Ending days of speculation, David Miliband announced that he would not seek election to the Shadow Cabinet on 29 September, the day nominations closed, saying he wanted to avoid "constant comparison" with his brother Ed.[50] The three other defeated candidates for the Labour leadership all stood in the election, thoughDiane Abbott failed to win enough votes to gain a place.
Following the election, Miliband unveiled hisShadow Cabinet on 8 October 2010. Among others, he appointedAlan Johnson as Shadow Chancellor of the Exchequer,Yvette Cooper was chosen as Shadow Foreign Secretary, and both defeated Labour leadership candidatesEd Balls andAndy Burnham were given senior roles, becomingShadow Home Secretary and Shadow Education Secretary respectively. Burnham was also given responsibility for overseeing Labour's election co-ordination.
Sadiq Khan, who managed Miliband's successful leadership campaign, was appointedShadow Justice Secretary andShadow Lord Chancellor, and continuing Deputy LeaderHarriet Harman continued to shadowDeputy Prime MinisterNick Clegg, as well as being madeShadow International Development Secretary.[51]Alan Johnson would later resign, stepping down for "personal reasons" on 20 January 2011, necessitating Miliband's first reshuffle, in which he made Balls Shadow Chancellor, Cooper Shadow Home Secretary andDouglas Alexander Shadow Foreign Secretary.[52]
Miliband's first electoral tests as Labour Leader came in the elections to theScottish Parliament,Welsh Assembly andvarious councils across England, excluding London, on 5 May 2011. The results for Labour were described as a "mixed bag", with the party performing well in Wales – falling just one seat short of an overall majority and forming the nextWelsh Government on its own – and making large gains from theLiberal Democrats in northern councils, includingSheffield,Leeds,Liverpool andManchester.
Miliband launched Labour's campaign for the2012 local elections with a speech inBirmingham, accusing the coalition government of "betrayal", and claiming that it "lacked the values" that Britain needed.[53] The Labour results were described as a success, with the party building on its performance the previous year in the north of England and Wales, consolidating its position in northern cities and winning control of places such asCardiff andSwansea.[54] Labour performed well in the Midlands and South of England, winning control of councils including Birmingham,Norwich,Plymouth andSouthampton.[54] Labour was less successful in Scotland than England and Wales, but retained control ofGlasgow despite predictions it would not.[54] Overall, Labour gained over 800 councillors and control of 22 councils.[54]
In April 2013, Miliband pledged ahead of theupcoming county elections that Labour would change planning laws to give local authorities greater authority to decide what shops can open in their high streets. He also said that Labour would introduce more strenuous laws relating to pay-day lenders and betting shops.[55] Labour subsequently gained nearly 300 councillors, as well as control ofNottinghamshire andDerbyshire County Councils.[56][57][58]
In May 2014, Miliband led Labour through theEuropean Parliament elections, where the party increased its number ofMembers of the European Parliament from 13 to 20. Labour came second with 24.4% of the vote, finishing ahead of the Conservatives but behindUKIP. This was the first time since the1984 that the largest opposition party had failed to win the most seats in European elections.[59] On the same day, Labour polled ahead of all other parties at thelocal elections, winning 31% of the vote and taking control of six additional councils.
On 30 March 2015,a general election was called for 7 May. Miliband began his campaign by launching a "manifesto for business", stating that only by voting Labour would the UK's position within the European Union be secure.[60] Miliband subsequently unveiled five pledges at a rally in Birmingham which would form the focus of a future Labour government, specifically identifying policies on deficit reduction, living standards, the NHS, immigration controls and tuition fees. He included an additional pledge on housing and rent on 27 April.[61][62] On 14 April, Labour launched its full manifesto, which Miliband said was fully funded and would require no additional borrowing.[63] During this time an online campaign began known asMilifandom.
Miliband was portrayed during Labour's 2015 election campaign as being genuine in his desire to improve the lives of working people and to display progression from New Labour, but was unable to defeat interpretations of him as being ineffectual, or even cartoonish in nature. Miliband insisted that Cameron should debate him one on one as part of a televised election broadcast in order to highlight differences in policies between the two major parties, but this did not happen, with the pair instead being interviewed separately byJeremy Paxman as part of the first major televised political broadcast of the election involving multiple parties.[64]
Despite opinion polls leading up to the general election predicting a tight result, Labour decisively lost the 7 May general election to the Conservatives. Although gaining 22 seats, Labour lost all but one of its MPs in Scotland and ended up with a net loss of 26 seats, failing to win a number of key marginal seats that it had expected to win comfortably. After being returned as MP forDoncaster North, Miliband stated that it had been a "difficult and disappointing" night for Labour.[65][66][67] Following Cameron's success in forming a majority government, Miliband resigned as Leader of the Labour Party on 8 May, with Harman becoming acting leader while aleadership election was initiated.[68][69]Jeremy Corbyn succeeded Miliband as leader.
As a backbencher, Miliband spoke about the need to tackle inequality[70] and in favour of theParis climate change agreement.[71][72] In May 2016, he appeared on the BBC'sQuestion Time, speaking in favour of Remain in the UK'sEU referendum[73] and he subsequently campaigned for a Remain vote.[74]
In the aftermath of the referendum result, Miliband said that, although he had supportedJeremy Corbyn since his election as leader, he had "reluctantly reached the conclusion his position [was] untenable", calling for Corbyn to step down in June 2016.[75] In the ensuingcontest, Miliband supported leadership challengerOwen Smith.[76] Miliband later admitted that he was "clearly wrong" to call for Corbyn's resignation.[77] In September 2016, Miliband joined the editorial board ofThe Political Quarterly journal, an unremunerated role.[78][79]
Renewing his previous stance on the issue in 2011, Miliband criticisedRupert Murdoch's bid to takeover telecommunications companySky in December 2016, subsequently supporting an inquiry byOfcom.[80][81][82]
At the snap2017 general election, Miliband was again re-elected with an increased vote share of 60.8% and an increased majority of 14,024.[83][84]
At the2019 general election, Miliband was again re-elected, with a decreased vote share of 38.7% and a decreased majority of 2,370.[85][86][87] Following the election, it was announced that Miliband would sit on a panel of party figures to overview and investigate the electoral failure.[88]
On 6 April 2020,Keir Starmer appointed Miliband to his Shadow Cabinet, after winning thecontest to become leader of the Labour Party two days before. Miliband assumed the role ofShadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy in the new shadow cabinet.[89]
In September 2020, Miliband faced Prime MinisterBoris Johnson during a debate on theUK Internal Market Bill, in a speech accusing him of "legislative hooliganism".[90]
On 27 October 2021, Miliband tookPrime Minister's Questions following theOctober 2021 budget on behalf of Keir Starmer, who had contractedCOVID-19.[91]
In theNovember 2021 shadow cabinet reshuffle, Miliband was appointed to the newly established post ofShadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero, assuming the energy responsibility from his previous role. He was succeeded asShadow Secretary of State for Business and Industrial Strategy byJonathan Reynolds.[92] Miliband did not have a direct department to shadow until February 2023, whenGrant Shapps was appointedSecretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero in the newDepartment for Energy Security and Net Zero.[93] Accordingly, Miliband's portfolio was renamed toShadow Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero, mirroring that of the government, in the2023 shadow cabinet reshuffle.
Miliband's re-appointment to the cabinet also led to theNew Statesman naming him the twenty-first most influential British left-wing figure of 2023.[94]
At the2024 general election, Miliband was again re-elected, with an increased vote share of 52.4% and an increased majority of 9,126.[95] Following Labour's victory at the general election, Miliband was appointedSecretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero by Starmer. He was among several ministers under Blair and Brown to be appointed to Starmer's cabinet.[96] Two days after being appointed, Miliband lifted the onshore wind ban.[97] He has clarified that despite disagreeing with the prospect of building a third runway at Heathrow Airport, he would not be resigning over the matter.[98]
Miliband is generally seen as being on thesoft left of the Labour Party.[99]
Miliband described himself as a new type of Labour politician, looking to move beyond the divisiveness ofBlairism andBrownism, and calling for an end to the "factionalism and psychodramas" of Labour's past. He also repeatedly spoke of the need for a "new politics".[100]
During the Labour leadership campaign, he described himself as asocialist, and spoke out against some of the actions of theBlair ministry, including criticising its record on civil liberties and foreign policy.[101] Though he was not yet an MP at the time of the 2003 vote, Miliband was a strong critic of theIraq War.[101][102] He backed UK military action and intervention inAfghanistan andLibya respectively.[103][104]
Miliband called for "responsible capitalism" whenGoogle'sEric Schmidt commented on his corporation's non-payment of tax.[105] He also supported making the UK's 50% top rate of tax permanent, as well as the institution of a newfinancial transaction tax, mutualisingNorthern Rock, putting limits on top salaries, scrappingtuition fees in favour of agraduate tax, implementing aliving wage policy and thescrapping of the ID cards policy, and spoke in favour of a "National Care Service".[106][107]
Miliband worked closely with the think tankPolicy Network on the concept ofpredistribution as a means to tackle what he described as 'the growing crisis in living standards'.[108] His announcement that predistribution would become a cornerstone of the UK Labour Party's economic policy was jokingly mocked by Prime Minister David Cameron during Prime Minister's Questions in the House of Commons.[109]
Though Labour remained officially neutral, he in a personal capacity supported the failed"Yes to AV" campaign in theAlternative Vote referendum on 5 May 2011, saying that it would benefit Britain's "progressive majority".[110][111] In September 2011, Miliband stated that a future Labour Government would immediately cut the cap on tuition fees for university students from £9,000 per year to £6,000, though he also stated that he remained committed to a graduate tax in the long-run.[112] Together with Shadow Chancellor Ed Balls, Miliband also promoted a "five-point plan for jobs and growth" aimed at helping the UK economy, involving extending the bonus tax on banks pioneered byAlistair Darling, bringing forward planned long-term investment to help reduce unemployment, cutting the rate ofVAT from 20% back to 17.5%, cutting VAT on home improvements to 5% for a temporary one-year period, and instigating a one-yearNational Insurance break to encourage employers to hire more staff.[113]Miliband also endorsed theBlue Labour trend in the Labour Party, founded byMaurice Glasman. This was seen to have influenced his 2011 conference speech, signalling "predatory and productive capitalism".[114][115]
Miliband is progressive in regard to issues of gender and sexuality. He publicly identifies as afeminist.[116] In March 2012, Miliband pledged his support forsame sex marriage. As he signed an 'equal marriage pledge', he said, "I strongly agree gay and lesbian couples should have an equal right to marry and deserve the same recognition from the state and society as anyone else."[117]
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In June 2014, while speaking to theLabour Friends of Israel, Miliband stated that if he became Prime Minister he would seek "closer ties" withIsrael and opposed theboycott of Israeli goods, saying that he would "resolutely oppose the isolation of Israel" and that nobody in the Labour Party should question Israel's right to exist.[118][119] He also stated that, as a Jew and a friend of Israel, he must criticise Israel when necessary, opposing the "killing of innocent Palestinian civilians".[120] Miliband criticised Israel for its conduct during the2014 Israel–Gaza conflict.[121]
Since the end of his leadership of the Labour Party, Miliband has expressed regret for not having been "radical enough" in his manifesto, and has described himself as "not following the normal route, which is to become more right wing as you get older", but instead becoming "more left wing".[122]
On 30 April 2019, Miliband joinedCaroline Lucas andLaura Sandys in calling for aGreen New Deal in the UK.[123]
During his time as Labour leader, Miliband criticised theConservative Leader and Prime Minister David Cameron for "sacrificing everything on the altar of deficit reduction", and has accused him of being guilty of practising "old politics", citing alleged broken promises on areas such as crime, policing, bank bonuses, and child benefit.[124]
Miliband was also particularly critical of formerLiberal Democrat Leader and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg following the Conservative–Liberal Democrat coalition agreement, accusing him of "betrayal" and of "selling-out" his party's voters. In 2010, he stated that he would demand Clegg's resignation before any Labour–Liberal Democrat coalition under his leadership.[125] In the2011 Alternative Vote referendum campaign he refused to share a platform with Clegg, stating that he had become "too toxic" a brand and that he would harm the "Yes to AV" campaign. He shared platforms during the campaign with former Liberal Democrat LeadersLord Ashdown andCharles Kennedy, Liberal Democrat Deputy LeaderSimon Hughes, theGreen Party LeaderCaroline Lucas andBusiness SecretaryVince Cable, among others.[126] As Labour leader, Miliband made speeches aimed at winning over disaffected Liberal Democrats, identifying a difference between "The Orange Book" Lib Dems, who were closer to the Conservatives, and Lib Dems on the centre-left, offering the latter a role in helping Labour's policy review at that time.[124]
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Following the death of former Prime Minister and Conservative LeaderMargaret Thatcher in 2013, Miliband spoke in a House of Commons sitting specially convened to pay tributes to her. He noted that, although he disagreed with a few of her policies, he respected "what her death means to the many, many people who admired her". He also said that Thatcher "broke the mould" in everything she had achieved in her life, and that she had had the ability to "overcome every obstacle in her path".[127] He had previously praised Thatcher shortly before the Labour Party Conference in September 2012 for creating an "era of aspiration" in the 1980s.[128]
Miliband has previously spoken positively of his brother David, praising his record asForeign Secretary, and saying that "his door was always open" following David's decision not to stand for theShadow Cabinet in 2010.[129] Upon David's announcement in 2013 that he would resign as a Labour MP and move to New York to head theInternational Rescue Committee, Miliband said that British politics would be "a poorer place" without him, and that he thought David "would once again make a contribution to British public life."[130]
When asked to choose the greatest British Prime Minister, Miliband answered with Labour's post-war Prime Minister and longest-serving Leader,Clement Attlee.[131] He has also spoken positively of his two immediate predecessors as Labour leader, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, praising their leadership and records in government.[132]
Miliband was portrayed during Labour's 2015 election campaign as being genuine in his desire to improve the lives of working people and to display progression fromNew Labour, but he was unable to defeat interpretations of him as being ineffectual, or even cartoonish in nature. Political illustrators perceived a resemblance to Wallace of the British animationWallace & Gromit and greatly exaggerated this in caricatures; various images circulated in the press and online media of Miliband performing day-to-day activities such asineptly eating a bacon sandwich, donating money to a beggar, and giving a kiss to his wife, all while displaying apparently awkward facial expressions.[133][134] In a March 2015Newsnight election debate, he was challenged byJeremy Paxman as to whether or not he was 'tough enough' to be Prime Minister, responding, "Hell yes, I'm tough enough", in reference to his reluctance to support air strikes against extremist targets in Syria.[135]
In June 2017, Miliband guest-presentedJeremy Vine'sBBC Radio 2 show.[136]
Miliband co-hosts a popularpodcast, entitledReasons to be Cheerful, with radio presenterGeoff Lloyd.[137] In November 2017, Miliband and Lloyd appeared as joint guests onRichard Herring's Leicester Square Theatre Podcast.[138]
Miliband is married toJustine Thornton, a High Court Judge.[139] The couple met in 2002 before becoming engaged in March 2010 and married on 27 May 2011 atLangar Hall inLangar, Nottinghamshire.[140][141][142][143] They have two sons, Daniel, born 2009, and Samuel, born 2010.[144][145] They live inDartmouth Park, north London.[146]
Miliband is ofJewish heritage — the first ethnically Jewish leader of the Labour Party[147][148] — and describes himself as aJewish atheist.[149][150] After marrying Thornton in acivil ceremony on 27 May 2011, he paid tribute to his Jewish heritage by following the tradition ofbreaking a glass.[151][152] In 2012, Miliband wrote, "Like many others from Holocaust families, I have a paradoxical relationship with this history. On one level I feel intimately connected with it – this happened to my parents and grandparents. On another, it feels like a totally different world."[153]
Instead of a laissez-faire system where companies told government what they wanted to build and where, government has decided that reducing climate change emissions cannot be left to the market.
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{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)[Ed Miliband] was applauded for his anti-boycott commitment – "we will resolutely oppose the isolation of Israel," he said – and for his assertion that no one in his party should question Israel's right to exist.
I have a particular faith, I describe myself as a Jewish atheist. I'm Jewish by birth origin and it's part of who I am. I don't believe in God, but I think faith is a really important thing for a lot of people. It provides nourishment, a faith about how you [can] change the world.
| Parliament of the United Kingdom | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Member of Parliament forDoncaster North 2005–present | Incumbent |
| Political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Minister for the Third Sector 2006–2007 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Minister for the Cabinet Office 2007–2008 | Succeeded by |
| Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster 2007–2008 | ||
| New office | Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 2008–2010 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change 2010 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Leader of the Opposition 2010–2015 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Shadow Secretary of State for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy 2020–2021 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded byas Shadow Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change | Shadow Secretary of State for Climate Change and Net Zero 2021–2024 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Secretary of State for Energy Security and Net Zero 2024–present | Incumbent |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by | Leader of the Labour Party 2010–2015 | Succeeded by |
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