Keir Starmer has been accused of being “too politically weak” to remove Ed Miliband from the Labour Government, despite his “obsession” with green energy.
Speaking to GB News, Economics Editor at The Spectator Michael Simmons said that even if the Prime Minister and Chancellor “wanted to get rid of him”, Sir Keir is not “strong enough” to go through with it.
As Britain’s energy crisis continues to worsen, the Chancellor is planning to offer help for poorer households as energy bills surge due to the war in Iran.
Oil prices per litre have doubled since the crisis began, but Rachel Reeves says she’s secured funding and agreed support with MPs for those not covered by the energy price cap.
Following the Chancellor’s meeting with oil bosses yesterday, there have been calls for Keir Starmer to open up the North Sea and get Britain drilling in the face of higher bills.
Offering his verdict of the plans, Mr Simmons told GB News that taking a more targeted approach would actually be the “right thing to do”.
He explained: “She certainly doesn’t want to offer a major bailout, and that’s why she’s talking about this announcement on Monday where it’s going to be targeted support, so for people that use heating oil and also for poorer families.
“And I think that is the right approach, because when Liz Truss did the more general support for everyone, the energy price guarantee, it ended up costing something like £80billion.”
Keir Starmer has been accused of being ‘too weak’ to get rid of Ed Miliband amid Britain’s surging energy crisis
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PA
However, Mr Simmons criticised the UK’s successive Governments and their “inexcusable” inability to tackle Britain’s energy crisis head-on.
He said: “What is inexcusable, despite my praise for the Chancellor just there, how can it be that we literally lived through this exact same crisis in 2022, in 2023, and seemingly politicians have done nothing to fix it?
“Why are we in a position again where we’re totally reliant on global energy markets? Most voters don’t care what kind of energy we have, whether it’s from wind, whether it’s from coal, whether it’s from nuclear. We just need reliable, abundant, cheap energy.”
Taking aim at Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, Mr Simmons urged the Prime Minister and the Chancellor to “have a word” with him and his “obsession” with green energy.
Ed Miliband’s push for net zero is spiking energy bills | GETTY
He swiped: “I think Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves need to have a word with Ed Miliband, and say we’re not going to be able to fix energy this year, but let’s really sort this out so that this is the last time we have to go through an energy crisis.”
Analysing Mr Miliband’s position, Mr Simmons admitted that even if Sir Keir and Ms Reeves “wanted to” remove him, realistically he is “not going anywhere” due to the Prime Minister’s “weakness”.
He told GB News: “I don’t think they can get rid of Ed though, even if they wanted to.
“I think Starmer and Reeves are of that view that we should just have cheap, abundant energy, but I think that Ed Miliband has this bulk of popularity within the soft left of the Labour Party and on the left of the Labour vote, which means he’s in a fairly strong position.
Mr Simmons told GB News that Ed Miliband is ‘obsessed’ with green energy
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GB NEWS
He made clear: “And because the Prime Minister is so politically weak, there is nothing he can do.
“A stronger Prime Minister would probably take that approach, but I think unfortunately for bill payers, Ed Miliband I don’t think is going anywhere.”
The Department of Energy Security and Net Zero has said: “Our priority is to deliver a fair, orderly and prosperous transition in the North Sea in line with our climate and legal obligations.
“They will drive our clean energy future of energy security, lower bills, and good long-term jobs.”