MP backs former leader for cabinet role

MP Lisa Nandy said she would be 'delighted' to welcome former Labour leader Ed Miliband back into the shadow cabinet.
Ed Miliband and Lisa Nandy MPEd Miliband and Lisa Nandy MP
Ed Miliband and Lisa Nandy MP

Reports this week have suggested Jeremy Corbyn is hoping to convince his predecessor to return to the party’s front-line having taken a step back following election defeat in 2015.

Mr Miliband, the MP for Doncaster North, visited Wigan this week as part of the Labour In campaign for continued membership of the EU.

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Asked by the Evening Post if she would like to see her colleague return to the shadow cabinet, Ms Nandy, the shadow energy minister, said: “I think Ed Miliband was a brilliant leader of the Labour Party and it was a very tough period for Labour coming after a tough election defeat in 2010 where we lost the trust of large sections of the electorate, I think he did a brilliant job then.

“The fact he is out now campaigning tells you that he is Labour through and through, that he believes in this country and wants to make it better.

“If he chose to do that from the shadow cabinet, I’d be really delighted.”

According to reports, current leader Mr Corbyn is considering a reshuffle of his cabinet team this summer and is keen to see Mr Miliband take up a role.

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Before becoming the leader of the party in 2010, Mr Miliband served as both the minister for energy and climate change and then the shadow equivalent following Gordon Brown’s election defeat.

On Tuesday, Mr Miliband urged borough residents to vote to remain in the EU, claiming membership is “the best way to bring about the change we want.”

Meanwhile, former military chiefs have urged serving and retired military personnel to back Brexit.

Maj Gen Julian Thompson, who led 3 Commando Brigade in the Falklands, said the UK found itself “dominated by people who we do not elect” in Brussels.

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SAS chief Gen Sir Michael Rose - who was incorrectly included on a list of top brass backing Remain issued by Downing Street - said European laws had “seriously undermined” the UK’s combat effectiveness.

Maj Gen Thompson said: “The result of this referendum will determine irrevocably what kind of country we, our children and our grandchildren will live in.”

However, ex-army major now Labour MP Dan Jarvis has warned Brexit would be a boost for Russian President Vladimir Putin.

Mr Jarvis, MP for Barnsley Central, insists Britain’s security and global influence is closely linked to membership of the EU.

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He said: “This referendum is the moment to decide whether we want to be Great or little Britain.

“What sort of message would we send out to the rest of the world, and to our enemies, if we, the people who forged cooperation across borders, who enlarged and later led this partnership between nations, walked away?”