Archie Hall

Ben Riley-Smith Verified account @benrileysmith · 1d

After a week of foreign policy headlines I’ve taken a look at Ed Miliband, the return of ‘ethical’ diplomacy and whether he’s becoming the PM of world affairs.

In there…

:: Miliband is so fascinated by the brief he is waking in the middle of the night and reading official papers on global conundrums rather than going back to sleep

:: Miliband, not Burnham or the King, was the key figure in moving the UK towards a formal apology for slavery (breaking with decades of Foreign Office thinking)

:: The Foreign Sec is much more involved in Burnham’s quest to take the UK much closer to the EU than is realised..

:: Miliband made closer EU ties one of his three priorities in talks with Burnham about the job (after the blow of not becoming chancellor)

:: It is Miliband, not EU negotiator Hamish Falconer or effective deputy PM Lou Haigh, who is deputy chair of the critical Europe cabinet committee (Burnham is chair but rarely attends)

:: Under Starmer, the EU negotiator headed up the Cabinet Office. Now? Falconer is a joint minister in both CO and the Foreign Office… under Miliband…

:: The Foreign Office is involved in drafting up the options for Burnham’s big EU reset (coming in a speech soon), so directly influencing the landing zone for closer ties

:: Most intriguingly: It is understood Miliband left his appointment chats with Burnham under the impression he would have a free hand in foreign policy…

:: “Andy Burnham made it really clear early on he wanted Ed Miliband to do foreign policy,” says one who’s discussed this with Miliband. (EU is an exception here - PM clearly leading that)

:: Team Miliband detects echos of Robin Cook’s famous 1997 “ethical dimension” in his foreign policy approach. They frame it as putting “Labour values” at the heart of the Foreign Office

:: Miliband is hoping to build back confidence in the department after merger with Dfid, cuts in budget and internal restructuring drained morale. He told his first all-staff meeting: “I love you all.”

Plenty of other tidbits in our Sunday Times politics long read:

Did missing out on Healey’s job make Ed Miliband more powerful?

thetimes.com/article/d423f5…

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Archie Hall Verified account @ArchieHall · 4d

AI will be the first tech capex boom that Britain misses out on in the modern era

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