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Miliband accused of disloyalty after new call for change
Paul Waugh, Deputy Political Editor6 Jul 2009
David Miliband was accused of undermining Gordon Brown today after he declared that voters want to hit the “fast-forward button”.
The Foreign Secretary sparked fresh speculation of an autumn leadership challenge by calling for radical reform to the Labour Party and setting out his vision for the future.
But, amid continuing reports of Cabinet splits over how to defeat David Cameron, he immediately came under fire from Labour MPs who believe his remarks “destabilised” Mr Brown.
Mr Miliband, who last summer sparked a botched coup with calls for reform, said “the finger of the electorate is on the fast-forward button”, adding that Labour urgently needed to change “because people have moved on and politics has moved on”.
The Tories seized on the remarks and Labour MPs said Mr Miliband appeared to be claiming that the voters were tired of the Prime Minister.
“Why destabilise the situation now, just two months before the party conference? The party is still furious with Hazel Blears, so the last thing we need is this kind of thing,” one government minister said. “When did he have time to write this stuff? We've got an Iran crisis, an Anglo-French summit and the G8 this week,” a senior MP added.
In a lecture marking the 15th anniversary of the death of Labour leader John Smith, Mr Miliband called for “a different kind of party” and floated the idea of open primaries and wider, US-style “supporter” networks.
He emphasised that Mr Brown should be allowed to carry on at No 10, but he criticised Labour's record on the environment, devolving power to councils and transport policy.
Mr Miliband added that “inequality is still higher than it should be… housing supply is not yet adequate”.
He also said that Labour missed Mr Smith's “decency, his calmness, his eye for the devastating attack”
Meanwhile, No 10 was forced to deny a rift with Home Secretary Alan Johnson over ID card policy, and relations between Ulster Secretary Shaun Woodward and Lord Mandelson were said to be “in the deep freeze”.
It also emerged that the Prime Minister had been staging lasagne dinners — cooked by wife Sarah — to try to improve relations with colleagues.
Reader views (1)
Fast Forward? Eject button, more like.
- Nobby Clark, Perth, the Scottish one, 06/07/2009 17:47
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