David Miliband is expected to fly back into British politics within days. The former foreign secretary, who quit Parliament after losing the 2010 Labour leadership to his younger brother Ed, is being lined up for a return to his old job. Andy Burnham would give him the Foreign Office.
That is the plan taking shape in Labour circles less than three weeks before Keir Starmer steps down. Burnham, the prime-minister-in-waiting, must finalise his senior team fast.
The date is set: July 19, when Starmer formally hands over. Ed Miliband is already pencilled in for Chancellor. The Net Zero Secretary has been tipped for the Treasury despite alarm from business, unions, and party moderates.
That puts two of the four great offices of state — Chancellor and Foreign Secretary — in Miliband hands. Only the Home Secretary post would remain for a woman.
Labour women MPs are not accepting that. They are demanding half of ministers be female. The optics of two brothers holding two of the top four jobs while a single woman holds one are already causing friction inside the Parliamentary Labour Party.
Burnham met with the PLP women last night. He tried to contain the damage. He said: “I want to put on record that I never have and never will describe myself as the first.” He was referring to the much-mocked briefing, first reported by the Spectator, that he would be “a female PM in all but sex.” Labour MPs fumed at that comment.
Tory leader Kemi Badenoch pounced, saying Labour “might have changed leader, but they still don’t know what a woman is.” The next steps are clear. Burnham must decide within days whether to offer David Miliband the Foreign Office.
That decision will trigger a chain reaction. If David returns, Ed stays at Treasury. The Home Secretary would then be the only great office for a woman.
Labour women MPs will push for that post to go to a senior female figure. Names are being discussed but none have been confirmed.
Burnham is trying to balance the brotherly dynamic. It is proving harder to manage than the gender row. David Miliband quit UK politics after losing to Ed in 2010.
A return now would be on terms neither brother could have predicted fourteen years ago. The timeline is tight. Starmer steps down in less than three weeks.
Burnham must have his team ready. The Miliband brothers would dominate the top table.
Labour women MPs are watching closely. They want half the cabinet to be female. They will not accept a setup where two brothers hold two great offices and only one woman holds the third.
Burnham was forced to distance himself from the “female PM in all but sex” briefing. That line came from a senior figure speaking to the Spectator.
Burnham told the PLP women he never described himself that way. He will not say it again. The concrete next steps: Burnham decides on David Miliband.
That decision comes this week or early next. Then the cabinet is announced. Then the gender balance is calculated.
Labour women MPs will make their demands public if they are not met. The brotherly psychodrama is back.
Burnham is caught in the middle. The clock is ticking.
