At a time when the so-called special relationship with the United States is under greater strain than at any time in the last 70 years, Prime Minister Andy Burnham’s appointment of the left-wing former Labour leader Ed Miliband as British foreign secretary could hardly be more provocative. The former energy and net zero secretary has expressed outright loathing of Donald Trump in the past. He is also a dedicated proponent of “the climate emergency,” a supporter of Palestinian statehood, and an avowed socialist who says he has become “more left-wing” as he has gotten older.
The Daily Telegraph has also reported that, before Burnham became prime minister, a senior Trump official took the extraordinary step of warning against this very appointment. The paper said this warning came during the unofficial “access” talks between Washington and the Burnham team earlier this month.
This appointment is the surest sign that the new prime minister will not try to be a “Trump whisperer,” as his predecessor, Sir Keir Starmer, was sometimes styled. It is also an indication that UK foreign policy is veering towards Europe rather than the Atlantic. Miliband, like Burnham, is an outspoken opponent of Brexit and his first words upon being appointed foreign secretary were to promise “deeper ties” with the European Union.
Team Trump’s hostility to Miliband isn’t hard to understand. “Red Ed” as the former Labour leader is often called, is not only the most left-wing member of the Cabinet; he has had some choice things to say about President Trump. Talking of relations with the U.S. in 2016, Mr. Miliband said, “The idea that we have shared values with a racist, misogynistic, self-confessed groper beggars belief.” This was not a one-off. Miliband joined subsequent demonstrations seeking to deny Trump a state visit to the UK. He called on Labour colleagues to “do our best at home and abroad to resist the worst of Trumpism.”
These were comments made some years ago, but there are more recent positions taken by Miliband that will cause “friction,” as Washington put it, between the new foreign secretary and the president. Miliband was one of the leading figures in the cabinet who called on Sir Keir Starmer in February to deny the U.S. access to British bases like Diego Garcia at the start of the Iran War. The former Labour leader has frequently criticized Israel’s actions in the “occupied territories.” Miliband was an opponent of the Iraq War in 2003, and has recently said he has “no regrets” about voting to block military action against President Bashar al-Assad in 2013.
As net zero secretary, Miliband was responsible for banning any new drilling for oil and gas in the North Sea. Trump has repeatedly chided the UK government for failing to exploit “one of the greatest sources of quality oil on Earth.”
Clearly Burnham is in no mood to appease Donald Trump or to acquiesce to pressure from across the pond on cabinet appointments. Indeed, the fact that Trump’s people reportedly tried to prevent Miliband from being made foreign secretary may have hardened his determination to appoint him.
Burnham had a problem. Miliband was one of his key supporters in the coup—let’s call it what it was—against Starmer. He was understood to be aiming high, wanting to become Chancellor of the Exchequer, the second most important post in the PM’s gift. It was pretty clear, however, that this would have been a storm warning for the bond markets. The yield on government gilts has already increased in the days since Burnham became PM-designate.
So the new prime minister had to find a suitable role for his friend, all the more so because Burnham is allegedly considering resuming drilling in the North Sea.
I say “allegedly” because it was authoritatively reported by the BBC on Friday that Burnham would give the go-ahead for the development of the blocked Rosebank and Jackdaw oil and gas fields off Scotland. The very next day, Burnham’s people conducted what in British journalism is called “a reverse ferret” and denied the story, even though it had come from a reliable Labour source. It is assumed that the pressure for the U-turn came from sources not a million miles from Miliband, who has said that drilling in the North Sea would be “climate vandalism”.
But the fact that he had a cabinet seating problem does not really explain the Miliband appointment, which has both shocked many in the diplomatic corps and caused jubilation on the Labour left. Burnham is saying that Britain cannot be relied upon in any future conflict with Iran, even as the war is resuming following the deaths of U.S. servicemen.
It means that Washington will be reluctant to share briefings with the UK and that Burnham is likely to start his administration in a state of verbal conflict with the president. The first encounter between The Donald and “Red Ed” is likely to involve what diplomats call a free and frank exchange of views. Mr. Burnham has made clear where he stands.
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