Andy Burnham could risk the wrath of Donald Trump by making Ed Miliband his Chancellor, the White House has warned.
As speculation over the who the future Chancellor might be US President’s closest allies have made their feelings clear on who should not be the next resident of No11.
The Commander-in-Chief has previously taken aim at the “ideologically driven” Energy Secretary over his “stupid” Net Zero policies.
In the past, Mr Trump has repeatedly criticised Mr Miliband’s refusal to drill in the North Sea.
In February, the 47th President launched a scathing attack on the Doncaster North MP after he signed an “inappropriate” green deal with Gavin Newsom, California’s Democrat governor.
The President warned: “The UK’s got enough trouble without getting involved with Gavin Newscum.”
And, when Sir Keir Starmer announced his resignation last month, energy policy was one of three areas on which Mr Trump offered some guidance.
“I said (to Sir Keir) you are really messing up energy, you have windmills all over the place and in the meantime you have the North Sea oil and you won’t let anyone drill… It’s one of the great fields of the world,” he told reporters at the White House.
Donald Trump has repeatedly encouraged Labour to drill in the North Sea
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“The UK buys most of its energy from you know where? Norway. You know where they get their oil? The North Sea.
“The UK has a much better portion of the North Sea, they don’t want to do it for environmental purposes,” Mr Trump said.
But Mr Trump and his top team are far from being alone in their disregard for Mr Miliband’s unwavering commitment to his Net Zero agenda.
Dale Vince, the green energy entrepreneur behind Ecotricity and a prominent Labour backer, launched a scathing attack on Ed Miliband just yesterday.
Andy Burnham is rumoured to be preparing to hand Ed Miliband the top Treasury job
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He declared that the Energy Secretary is responsible for making Net Zero “politically toxic”.
The businessman, who has donated £5million to the party, branded Mr Miliband unsuitable for the role of Chancellor and accused him of putting ideology ahead of sound economics.
Mr Vince questioned whether the Energy Secretary even had a basic understanding of value for money.
Some of Britain’s biggest unions have warned against appointing Mr Miliband to the top job over fears his left-leaning tendencies could “spook” the markets, a concern shared by party insiders.
His commitment to his Net Zero agenda and his unwavering aversion to drilling in the North Sea has sparked concern from big businesses about market stability on Mr Miliband’s watch.
Nonetheless, a few of Burnham’s closest allies have come out to support the former leader’s bid to move in next door to the Prime Minister, while one source close to Mr Burnham said his chances were about “50/50”.
Mr Burnham and several of his allies have said they will not entertain speculation about what his future Cabinet might look like.
Yesterday, the Makerfield MP explained, as part of his “devolution revolution”, the incoming Chancellor would be encouraged to spend more time dotted around the country, rather than hidden away in the heart of Westminster.