Ed’s Miliback!

Former leader returns as Starmer clears out hard Left

Ed Miliband returned to front-line politics yesterday as Keir Starmer further purged his shadow cabinet of the hard Left.

He becomes Labour’s business spokesman five years after he led the party to an electoral defeat that ushered in Jeremy Corbyn.

On the second day of a ruthless reshuffle, Sir Keir again sacked a string of Corbyn supporters and replaced them with moderates, including Tony Blair ally Lord Falconer.

Rebecca Long-Bailey, the hard-Left candidate who stood against Sir Keir in the leadership race, was one of the few Corbynites left standing.

She was moved from business to the post of education spokesman.

Among those kicked out of the shadow cabinet were Richard Burgon, the Corbynite candidate for deputy leader, and other hard-Left figures such as dawn Butler and dan Carden.

Baroness Chakrabarti, who wrote a much-derided report claiming Labour did not have a big problem with antiSemitism, was also sacked. Lord Falconer replaces her.

Mr Burgon’s job as justice spokesman went to david Lammy, a moderate who served as a minister under Mr Blair and Gordon Brown.

Sir Keir said: ‘I’m proud to have appointed a shadow cabinet that showcases the breadth, depth and talents of the Labour Party.

‘This is a new team that will be relentlessly focused on acting in the national interest to respond to the coronavirus pandemic and rebuilding Labour so that it can win the next election.’

Mr Miliband was Labour leader between 2010 and 2015 and vigorously opposed the

In and out: Ed Miliband and Baroness Chakrabarti Coalition’s austerity regime. – a remit which is now part His opponents blame him for of the business brief – means he the Corbyn era because he is well suited to his new role. changed Labour’s leadership Miss Long-Bailey takes over election rules, making it easier the education brief from new for the hard Left to infiltrate deputy leader Angela Rayner, the party and take it over after who joins Sir Keir’s leadership he resigned. rivals Lisa Nandy and

His supporters say his experience Emily Thornberry in the party’s as climate change minister top team. Miss Thornberry

has been demoted from shadow foreign secretary to international trade spokesman, with her old job going to Miss Nandy.

Mr Lammy, who practised as a barrister and became a leading voice against the Windrush scandal, becomes justice spokesman.

Ian Murray, who ran for the deputy leadership, returns as Scottish affairs spokesman after resigning from the role under Mr Corbyn while criticising his leadership.

He is the only Labour MP north of the border.

dr Rosena Allin-Khan, who unsuccessfully stood to be deputy leader and who is continuing to work as a hospital doctor, is health spokesman.

John Healey was moved to defence having held the housing brief under Mr Corbyn.

Sir Keir was in a strong position to reshape Labour’s top team after securing 56 per cent of the 490,731 votes cast in the party’s three-month leadership contest.