Bringing Ed Miliband Back Showed Keir Starmer's 'Self Confidence', MP Says
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Bringing Ed Miliband back into the shadow cabinet demonstrated the “self confidence” Keir Starmer has as the new Labour leader, a prominent MP has said.
Starmer has been dubbed as “continuity Miliband” by some critics who feel he is hewn from the same “soft left” tradition of the party.
Labour MP Wes Streeting said his new leader will have been acutely aware of comparisons between Miliband and himself – but decided to disregard them when putting together his shadow cabinet this week.
He also backed Miliband to reinvent himself and revitalise his political career like William Hague, who was eventually regarded as a successful foreign secretary after a mixed spell as Tory leader.
Streeting told HuffPost UK’s Commons People podcast: “That [the comparison] was the obvious risk of bringing Ed Miliband back and yet Keir chose to do it.
“As well as [being] smart himself, he’s got a very smart and savvy political operation around him, and I saw that as a sign of self-confidence, actually.
“He knew exactly what the word on the street would be and how it would be seen in the Westminster village, and he’s just gone: ‘Well I want him in that job – this is what I want him to be doing.’”
Miliband has been brought in as shadow business, energy and industrial strategy alongside a host of lesser-known names such as Anneliese Dodds, the new shadow chancellor, and Nick Thomas-Symonds, the new shadow home secretary.
Streeting said Miliband had been hired for his expertise on climate change and to get media coverage, which Labour will find harder with the Tories holding an 80-seat majority.
“One of the advantages of Ed is that he does have a media cut-through as well,” Streeting said.
“So as well as bringing through fresh faces, you’ve got someone who can cut straight through and talk to people.
“When you think about other...
