Anger as Ed Miliband heads Labour election inquest
Former leader will lead ‘cross-factional commission’ into December defeat

A series of Labour figures have responded with anger and derision to the news that Ed Miliband will spearhead the review into why the party lost the general election.
Labour Together, which is running a “cross-factional commission” into the party’s worst election showing since 1935, will assess what went wrong in the December poll.
The former party leader, who lost the 2015 general election, will be joined by Lucy Powell MP, his campaign manager for that unsuccessful bid.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“It is just so poorly judged by Ed... people are frankly flabbergasted at the breathtaking arrogance of it all,” one Labour source told The Times.
Another disclosed that a WhatsApp group of centrist Labour MPs had become “pretty fruity” when Miliband’s role was announced.
A shadow minister joined the chorus of disapproval, saying: “The party simply doesn’t need a post-mortem carried out by a self-nominated group consisting of a failed leader and his chief of staff who themselves have not given an adequate explanatory account of their lost election in 2015.”
An unnamed Labour MP said: “Those people who have appointed themselves to lead this so-called commission facilitated Corbynism, then enabled it and now want to sustain it.”
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Lord Adonis, a former Labour cabinet minister, said: “The funniest proposition since the election is that Ed Miliband should lead a review into why it was lost for Labour.”
Ben Bradshaw, Labour MP for Exeter since 1997, suggested on Twitter that it would be preferable for the review’s leader to have “experience of actually winning a general election”.
However, Powell responded said the criticism was “nonsense”. She told The Guardian that Miliband retained his Labour seat in the “red wall” as others fell to the Tories. She also argued that the former leader has been campaigning in the traditional heartland of Doncaster regularly for the past four years and has as much to offer “as the next person”.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––For a round-up of the most important stories from around the world - and a concise, refreshing and balanced take on the week’s news agenda - try The Week magazine. Start your trial subscription today –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
-
Fit for a king: must-visit palaces around the UK
The Week Recommends Our pick of the nation’s most magnificent residences for nobles and royals
-
Is Andy Burnham making a bid to replace Keir Starmer?
Today's Big Question Mayor of Manchester on manoeuvres but faces a number of obstacles before he can even run
-
Christian Brückner: why prime suspect in Madeleine McCann case can refuse Met interview
The Explainer International letter of request rejected by 49-year-old convicted rapist as he prepares to walk free
-
Is Andy Burnham making a bid to replace Keir Starmer?
Today's Big Question Mayor of Manchester on manoeuvres but faces a number of obstacles before he can even run
-
Angela Rayner: the rise and fall of a Labour stalwart
In the Spotlight Deputy prime minister resigned after she underpaid £40,000 in stamp duty
-
The runners and riders for the Labour deputy leadership
The Explainer Race to replace Angela Rayner likely to come down to Starmer loyalist vs. soft-left MP supported by backbenchers and unions
-
How should Keir Starmer right the Labour ship?
Today's Big Question Rightward shift on immigration and welfare not the answer to 'haemorrhaging of hope, trust and electoral support'
-
'Three Pads' Rayner: a housing hypocrite?
Talking Point As real estate moguls go, the Deputy PM is 'hardly Donald Trump'
-
Who will win the battle for the soul of the Green Party?
An ideological divide is taking root among the environmentalists
-
Are we facing a summer of riots?
Today's Big Question Anti-immigrant unrest in Essex has sparked fears of a summer of disorder
-
Who stands to gain – and lose – from 16-year-old voters?
Today's Big Question Many assume Labour will benefit but move could 'backfire' if Greens, a new hard-left party or Reform continue to pick up momentum