David Miliband

David Miliband, MP

Background

From 1994 to 1997 David Miliband was the Head of Policy for Tony Blair. He then headed the Prime Minister's Policy Unit in Downing Street during Labour's first term in office from 1997 to 2001. Since 2001 he has been the MP for South Shields.

Miliband entered the Cabinet as Minister of Communities and Local Government in May 2005, a year later he was promoted to Environment Secretary at Defra where he replaced Margaret Beckett. Even before his recent promotion, Miliband was being talked of a as a potential successor to Blair. His nick-name is “brains”.

David Miliband is the son of the late Ralph Miliband, an important left theoretician who wrote book on political theory and Marxism. Ralph was a scholar at LSE for many years.

His Appointment "Clears" Way for Nuclear

Miliband is said to be publicly “open-minded” on nuclear and has said “it has to remain an option” in fighting climate change. However, by replacing Margaret Beckett as Environment Secretary, who was seen to be sceptical about nuclear power, Miliband’s appointment is “widely seen as clearing one obstacle to building more nuclear plants”, as the BBC put it.

His admission that "Obviously the benefit of nuclear power is that it emits zero carbons but obviously there are costs associated with nuclear power and there are also waste issues, which are very important,” was seen as hinting that he was in favour of nuclear.bbc}}

Nuclear Sleaze

Just days after his appointment as Environment Secretary, The Sunday Times reported how Miliband was “embroiled in a sleaze row … over his links to a nuclear industry lobbyist. The lobbyist — Alan Donnelly — chairs the minister’s local constituency party”.

According to the Sunday Times, Sovereign Strategy, Donnelly’s lobbying firm, represents the US multinational Fluor, one of the world’s biggest nuclear companies, which is hoping to win a stake in the £70 billion British nuclear waste market. Donnelly also founded and helps run the Transatlantic Nuclear Energy Forum (Tanef), an organisation that aims to foster “strong relationships” between nuclear power companies and governments.

On paternity leave

In November 2007, the Saudi royals and high officials were in London on a state visit that included ceremonies with the Queen, meeting senior government officials, etc. NB: the Saudis arrived with a several hundred-strong delegation requiring five jumbo jets to bring them from Saudi Arabia. As Foreign Secretary Miliband certainly should have had to meet the Saudi king and entourage, but he found a subterfuge to avoid meeting the Saudi royals by claiming that he was on "paternity leave". In his place Kim Howells delivered the accolades to the Saudi royals about British and Saudi "shared values".