Energy and Net Zero Secretary Ed Miliband faces the sack in Sir Keir Starmer’s planned reshuffle as the Prime Minister turns his back on “green” policies. The Prime Minister wants to end the focus on net zero and instead commit his government firmly to growing the economy, according to reports.
It means Mr Miliband, who has championed green policies, will lose his job. The Labour government has banned issuing new oil and gas licences in the North Sea and is pushing for domestic boilers to be replaced by expensive heat pumps. But Labour has now backed expansion of both Heathrow and Gatwick airports, seen as a political defeat for Mr Miliband who is also said to have objected to the decision to cut aid spending and boost the defence budget by £6bn in real terms.
Critics say Mr Miliband’s determination to cut the UK’s carbon emissions is undermining Labour’s efforts to get energy bills down.
A source told a Sunday newspaper: “The Net Zero agenda has been subsumed by the need to boost the floundering economy and the new world order in Washington.
“It’s obvious he is not happy, and might jump if he is not pushed.”
Anneliese Dodds last week resigned as International Development Minister in protest against the aid cut.
Other Cabinet ministers tipped to be moved in the reshuffle include Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson, who has been blamed for controversy over the Government’s Children’s Wellbeing and Schools which Tories say undermines academy schools.
Labour sources sympathetic to Ms Phillipson point out that Downing Street knew exactly what was in the Bill before it was presented to Parliament.
Culture Secretary Lisa Nandy is also expected to go. She and Sir Keir Starmer have a long-running feud after she accused him of failing to act against antisemitism when Jeremy Corbyn was Labour leader.
Sir Keir has so far lost four members of his Government during his first year as Prime Minister. As well as Ms Dodds, resignations include Louise Haigh who quit as transport secretary, Tulip Siddiq who resigned as economic secretary to the Treasury and Andrew Gwynne, who was sacked from job as under-secretary of state for public health and prevention for comments in a WhatsApp group.
