Up next in 10
LBC callers react as the White House expresses 'concern' over the appointment of 'green energy zealot' Ed Miliband as Foreign Secretary. Mr Miliband returned to frontline politics following the Corbyn era and had served as energy secretary in Sir Keir’s government since Labour’s election win in 2024, spearheading the net zero agenda. He now moves to the role of Foreign Secretary, effectively Britain’s top diplomat. Mr Miliband is said to have been appointed the new Foreign Secretary because of his experience of international leadership and negotiating with other nations across the world during his time as energy secretary. Listen to the full show on the all-new LBC App: https://app.af.lbc.co.uk/btnc/thenewlbcapp #edmiliband #ukpolitics #whitehouse #donaldtrump #trump #diplomacy #LBC LBC is the home of live debate around news and current affairs in the UK. Join in the conversation and listen at https://www.lbc.co.uk/ Sign up to LBC’s weekly newsletter here: https://l-bc.co/signup
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
There was quite a bit of to-ing and fro-ing, wasn't there, in terms of what we thought Ed Miliband might get
0:08
what position he might get in the Cabinet. He was talked about in terms of Chancellor
0:13
But what's happened in the end is that he has been made Foreign Secretary, which is ruffling a few feathers
0:20
First of all, let's just have a listen, because this was Ed Miliband speaking to the BBC on his way out of Downing Street
0:26
after his new appointment as Foreign Secretary. It's the honour of my life to have been asked by the Prime Minister to be the Foreign Secretary of our country
0:36
My parents came here as Jewish refugees fleeing from the Nazis, and for them Britain provided sanctuary and a beacon of hope in the fight against fascism
0:46
At a time when values of democracy, the rule of law and freedom are under threat as never before
0:54
I will carry that spirit, their spirit, into my work as Foreign Secretary
0:58
and now I'm going to go and get on with the task. Right, you've got to go on, get on with the task
1:05
What do you think then of Ed Miliband as Foreign Secretary? Do you think that was a good choice
1:10
And what do you think about some of the noises coming from the White House
1:16
They don't seem that keen, perhaps specifically Donald Trump not that keen
1:20
He takes a very keen interest, doesn't he, in UK politics. Not that keen on Ed Miliband as Foreign Secretary
1:27
The White House is said to be, there's been no official word yet, but I'm sure Donald Trump, if he feels strongly about something, he will post it on Truth Social
1:36
The White House is said to be deeply concerned about the appointment of Ed Miliband as Foreign Secretary
1:41
So why? This is because, as some people see Ed Miliband as a green energy zealot
1:50
He supports green energy projects that Donald Trump has criticised in the past, which perhaps explains why some sources are saying that Ed Miliband as Foreign Secretary would be a point of friction in the US-UK relationship
2:08
Do you think Ed Miliband could be a point of friction? Or should the USA keep out of UK cabinet appointments
2:15
no one in this country ever has much to say about government appointments in the United States of
2:23
America. Is this actually going to boil down to anything or are we all going to get on swimmingly
2:32
You remember all the fuss about David Lammy as Foreign Secretary and everyone said well hang on a
2:38
second this is going to be very awkward isn't it? It's going to be very awkward because David Lammy
2:42
has said a few unpleasant things about Donald Trump. But as it all boiled down in the end, it seemed to be fine
2:53
Donald Trump seemed to shrug it off. And as one of the callers yesterday pointed out
2:58
David Lammy became quite friendly with Donald Trump's Vice President J.D. Vance
3:04
So is this something that can be put aside? or actually do you think when it comes to policy
3:11
this is going to be a bit of a problem? Donald Trump, as we know, not keen on green energy projects
3:19
tweeted or posted on Truth Social yesterday or the day before saying how wonderful it is Andy Burnham's going to open up the North Sea oil
3:27
for drilling, etc. We're not sure exactly how accurate that is. But it's very clear what Donald Trump likes and what he does not like
3:38
So should we protect Ed Miliband at all costs? Or do you have some concerns about Ed Miliband as Foreign Secretary
3:49
There is a really interesting piece in the Telegraph, which sets out the position of Ed Miliband not being a good choice
4:00
Of course, there will have been things written about him being a good choice as Foreign Secretary
4:04
But here's one in the Telegraph by David Blair. And it starts, if Ed Miliband possessed an ounce of humility or self-knowledge, he would have searched his conscience and ruled himself out of becoming foreign secretary
4:18
His shared responsibility for one of the most calamitous foreign policy blunders in recent times is a terrible warning of what kind of a foreign secretary he'll turn out to be
4:27
Britain's allies, particularly America and the Gulf states, will probably be dismayed by his promotion
4:33
Our enemies, by contrast, have good reason to be mightily encouraged. He goes on to talk about what happened in Syria and said that Ed Miliband who was then leader of the Labour opposition in 2013 did more than anyone else to prevent Britain from responding to this atrocity in the only effective way which was by taking military action
4:58
Because, David Blair goes on to say, once Britain had abdicated, America did the same, whereupon Assad proceeded to gas his people over and over again
5:08
Now, you remember that it was David Cameron, I think, was it not, who stood up in the House of Commons and said, I get it
5:15
There is not going to be any military intervention. But this particular opinion piece is singling out Ed Miliband, I suppose, because he is now in the position of Foreign Secretary
5:29
further into this piece a senior Trump administration official has told the Telegraph
5:36
after Ed Miliband's appointment that the new foreign secretary risked being a point of friction
5:41
in the Anglo-American relationship and one other thing he says as energy secretary
5:47
and a member of the National Security Council Miliband even seems to have been
5:51
against allowing these bases to be used to destroy Iranian missiles that were being fired at the Gulf states
5:57
where about 300,000 Britons reside. So there you go. One opinion as to why Ed Miliband is not the right choice as Foreign Secretary
6:11
As I say, we haven't had any official statement from the White House yet
6:15
but Donald Trump is not backwards at coming forwards. I'm sure that if he has something to say, he will have his say when it comes to Ed Miliband
6:23
But that's what we know so far, that the White House are apparently not keen on Ed Miliband as foreign secretary
6:29
They're deeply concerned and they think that he could be a point of friction in the US-UK relationship
6:35
Do you buy that? Do you think it's important? Should we protect Ed Miliband? Perhaps you're not necessarily an Ed Miliband fan
6:42
But when America starts saying, hang on a second, we don't like this guy or that guy
6:47
do you then fall in behind Ed Miliband? Daniel is in Golders Green. Hi, Daniel
6:53
Good afternoon. How are you? Very well. What do you think? Yeah, I'm concerned about Ed Miliband being our foreign secretary
7:02
particularly when it comes to relations with America, because we know that Ed Miliband is a real net zero fanatic
7:10
And we know that President Trump isn't, quite frankly. And I think that could cause tensions
7:15
And at this moment in time where we really need the United States for trade
7:20
foreign direct investment, defence. I think we need a foreign secretary that is going to get on
7:26
with Donald Trump and his administration. But do you think it's possible to disagree
7:32
on things or to have different views on things, but to still be able to get on like grownups
7:39
diplomatically because you happen to be a foreign secretary and someone else happens to be
7:44
the president of the United States or whoever actually his counterpart would be? It's possible
7:49
isn't it? I mean, no one agrees on everything. No, absolutely. Look, it's possible. If you and
7:56
I, if you were president of America and I was British foreign secretary, we could. We could
8:00
have a rational debate. But on both sides of the pond, you've got a kind of big fossil fuel drill
8:08
baby drill, big oil and gas fanatic, ideological fanatic in America with Donald Trump. On this
8:14
side of the pond, on our side, you've got a net zero green fanatic in Ed Miliband. So I don't think
8:21
we're dealing with two people here that are pragmatists. I think we're dealing with two
8:24
people that are ideological and that could clash, which is a real shame. Do you remember the tweet
8:31
the post that Donald Trump put out? I think it was yesterday, possibly the day before
8:39
where you said, oh, fantastic, new Prime Minister and Andy Burnham, he's going to open up the North
8:43
see we're going to start drilling etc etc this is all good news now we don't know exactly what
8:48
that means are we talking about old licenses existing licenses or new licenses but if that
8:54
turns out to be true then the energy policy is coming from Andy Burnham rather than Ed Miliband
9:03
so it doesn't matter if he is as you say a green energy fanatic if the man at the top says okay
9:09
this is what we're doing, then he's just got to fall in line, hasn't he? Well, we hope so. And I think you're right
9:15
I think the reality is that if we continue with Rosebank and Jackdaw in the North Sea
9:22
and if that message is communicated to President Trump, that could be beneficial for the UK
9:27
But, you know, look, the reality is I actually, I've got to be honest with you
9:32
I actually take a more nuanced view And I think we do need a mix And I think we do need to wean ourselves off fossil fuels And clean energy is good Wind is good Solar is good If we can bring down bills
9:44
and be less reliant on the global oil market, that is a good thing. But I just hope that Ed Miliband is moderating his views
9:52
I hope that he approaches things on the world stage from a more pragmatic view to say
9:58
you know, look, we can do different things and we don't need to just completely shut down the North Sea
10:03
and completely abandon oil and import LPG and other fuels at four times the carbon footprint
10:08
I think, I hope he's a bit more moderate, you know. Don't you think it's a bit not so that the President of the United States of America
10:17
is apparently looking at a list of, you know, cabinet appointees in this country
10:24
nothing to do with America, and saying, well, I don't like that one. Isn't that a bit out of order
10:29
Yeah, it is. It is. I think, look, clearly the President of the United States
10:34
when he has a relationship with the UK, is entitled to his view
10:38
But I agree. I don't think they should be interfering. I think it's wrong that he's, if he is, which we don't know
10:44
but interfering, you know, it's fine to have a view, but don't interfere. Mark says, I think we should send a list of cabinet candidates to Donald Trump
10:51
and he can tick the ones he wants. What a joke, but out of our political affairs
10:58
A different Mark. I thought this was Great Britain, not yet a 51st state of Trump's America
11:05
Not until Farage becomes Prime Minister, says Mark and Annette. The Trump administration has no business interfering in the UK government appointments
11:13
We don't interfere in theirs. They should keep out of ours. Right
11:17
Should Ed Miliband be Foreign Secretary? Perhaps you have some other concerns about Ed Miliband
11:24
And I think I'm right in saying that, yeah, Foreign Secretary apparently, was it Foreign Secretary that was offered to Rachel Reeves, apparently
11:33
But she, I think she'd had enough, quite frankly, and wanted to leave government completely
11:39
So it might not have been Ed Miliband, it might have been Rachel Reeves. Then what would have happened
11:44
Let's speak to Patrick, who's in Epsom in Surrey. Hi, Patrick. Hi, good afternoon
11:49
I think it goes to show how beholden we are to the Americans in respect to the fact that this isn't even a question
11:55
I believe that. What I think our new prime minister should do is ask him how he feels about his current cabinet picks
12:04
the likes of Pete Hegsif and his atrocious start to the job
12:08
as well as his behavior in respect to Iran. Or Pam Bundy, maybe
12:16
Maybe we should ask Donald Trump if he needs to look at his choices
12:19
before he looks at other people's choices and the lack of success therein
12:24
So we should forget about Donald Trump. We should act like Mark Carney and the Canadians
12:29
We should establish ourselves as Great Britain and look to the things that we are great for and not be beholden
12:35
not play little brother, not be bullied by the likes of Donald Trump. We're not going to be bullied, though, are we
12:40
Because he's Foreign Secretary. He's going to stay Foreign Secretary. He's not going to change. The appointment's been made
12:45
It's just that apparently he's not that keen. And the thing about Donald Trump is that, you know, he doesn't like to keep stuff in
12:51
He likes to tell everyone how he feels. Well, that doesn't necessarily mean that we need to respond to that
12:57
I've got a seven-year-old that likes to tell me how he feels all of the time. I'm not going to be reacting to that all of the time
13:03
In respects to Ed Miliband, my preference would have been for him to stay with energy
13:09
because it seems like something that he holds dear to his heart
13:14
And I think that we should have individuals that have a passion for what it is that they have been appointed to do within the cabinet
13:21
unlike people like, say, Yvette Cooper, forgive me, who seems to sing any particular tune that any one of her superiors would have her sing
13:35
So, yeah, I would have preferred Ed to stay in energy. Who then would have been foreign secretary, do you think
13:42
who would you like to have seen somebody that can it'd be very difficult for me to name it well do
13:50
you know what i think it would have been interesting to have somebody and i know that he's an independent
13:54
i reckon that um uh the new prime minister should have like reached out to somebody like um
14:00
jeremy corbyn to find out if it's possible for him to have any particular role in his government
14:06
because i would go to say that um i find corbyn to be a bernie sanders type character he's a man
14:11
of his convictions. You can trust what he says. I was aggrieved at the nature of his demise as
14:20
leader of the Labour Party I didn think it was fair or honest But if you want somebody in that particular role let them be fair and let them be honest and let them be objective and let them uphold British values And I know that a term
14:33
that's been used a lot, but I don't think that it's an ethos that has been
14:36
extolled a lot amongst our parliamentarians. Okay, Patrick, thank you. That's a radical suggestion
14:43
Foreign Secretary Jeremy Corbyn. Michael, who's the first time caller, is in Bracknell. Hi, Michael
14:48
Hi, how's it going? Very well. Do you think is Ed Meliband the right pick
14:52
for him, right pick, that's very American, isn't it? The right choice for a foreign secretary
14:57
I mean, I don't have too many opinions about the man himself
15:01
I'm 26. I remember him being leader of the Labour Party. I don't really have too strong opinions on him either way
15:09
I think he's actually been doing a fantastic job in the energy role and I don't think he should be criticised here or abroad
15:17
for his moves there. But my broader point really is that the Americans can have their opinions, but it shouldn't affect how our nations collaborate at all
15:31
I think Keir Starmer is a great example of someone who, you know, had differences with the US over Iran, whatever it may be
15:40
But all in all, I think he had a pretty good working relationship with them
15:44
So we don't need to care what they think, really. this Trump administration is obviously ridiculous for many different reasons
15:50
so yeah it's very it's a really difficult balancing act isn't it and you know I don't
16:00
know I'm not sure what the jury thinks on Keir Starmer and the way I think they on the whole
16:05
people think that he dealt well with Donald Trump because he was getting a lot of criticism
16:10
wasn't he from Donald Trump saying he's no Winston Churchill you know we asked for the
16:15
bases, wouldn't give permission for us to use the bases initially, etc, etc. So, you
16:21
know, he was not, he didn't seem to be a fan of Keir Starmer because Keir Starmer didn't
16:25
do what he wanted him to do. So he did stand up to him. And I know we're talking about
16:30
Ed Miliband, but do you think Andy Burnham is going to be able to stand up as much
16:36
I think so. I think he's, you know, he's not had too much to say about international affairs
16:42
as far as I can tell from his career previously. He's more than focused on issues at home
16:46
and we've got enough of them. So I think he should focus on the UK
16:51
I think any relationship with the US should be for the benefit of our country
16:55
not some kind of, I don't know what the word is, some kind of nostalgic idea
17:01
about the relationship between our countries, which in my lifetime, I think, is tanked
17:06
especially in the last 10 years because of the Trump administrations. So we can't be beholden to the US
17:11
and their whims. We should do what's right for us. Do you think it's possible for people to disagree on policy
17:19
or even ideologically in the way that perhaps, obviously, Ed Miliband and Donald Trump do
17:24
when it comes to green energy, but to still get on? Isn't that the point of being a politician
17:30
Yeah, I think so. I think I would agree with that. Because ultimately, what all of us as just, you know
17:36
members of the general public don't see is all the stuff behind the scenes
17:40
I'm sure there's a lot of drudgery, red tape and things that it's just business as usual
17:46
And all of this media stuff and world stage, eye-flung ideas about should we be drilling, shouldn't we be drilling
17:53
is probably a lot more of the day job is just getting on with it. You know, whether that's administering trade deals
18:00
or all the things that I don't know about. Yes, you're not the only one
18:05
Michael, thank you. Thank you. You're a first-time caller. And thanks so much for getting in touch with us, Michael in Bracknell
18:10
lots of you getting in touch by text and WhatsApp. I'm confused
18:15
says Kenny. America is a basket case at the moment. This lot
18:19
have helped Trump and Netanyahu slaughter tens of thousands of children. If that is not enough pampering
18:27
I don't think anything our politicians do will be enough for a person who sends
18:33
troops to kill children for Netanyahu. That is obviously Kenny's opinion. This one from Andy. I am concerned that Ed Miliband has been appointed Foreign Secretary
18:48
but nowhere near as much as I would have been had he been made Chancellor. Hopefully the role
18:55
of Foreign Secretary will keep him out of the country as much as it kept Starmer away. That
19:01
is from Andy. Anne-Marie, I don't care what the White House think, they have a convicted felon
19:08
as president and our politicians have to deal with him so they can just get over the fact that
19:13
they don't think the same as Miliband and get on with it
#news