UK’s Miliband, Streeting: What are their foreign policy, defence records?

Andy Burnham has assumed the role of United Kingdom prime minister, replacing Keir Starmer as the nation's seventh leader in a decade. Upon taking office on Monday, Burnham moved swiftly to reshape his cabinet, removing several figures from the previous administration including Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Deputy Prime Minister David Lammy. He elevated allies to key positions, convening his first cabinet meeting on Tuesday.

Among those promoted were Ed Miliband, appointed foreign secretary, and Wes Streeting, named defence secretary. Both men now oversee portfolios with significant international implications. Miliband, born in 1969 to Polish Jewish immigrants, has served as Member of Parliament for Doncaster North since 2005. He previously held the energy and climate portfolio under Starmer and led the Labour Party from 2010 to 2015.

Miliband's most notable foreign policy intervention occurred in 2013 when he opposed military action against Syria's Bashar al-Assad following a chemical weapons attack near Damascus. His opposition contributed to the defeat of the Conservative government's bombing campaign in a House of Commons vote, after which the United States also withdrew from planned strikes. Some critics contended this decision allowed further atrocities to occur.

More recently, Miliband has advocated for Palestinian state recognition and reportedly opposed UK involvement in the February US-Israel attack on Iran, a position that created tension between Starmer and US President Donald Trump. Miliband has been openly critical of Trump, a stance that now complicates Britain's relationship with the United States. In recent years, he championed net zero carbon emissions targets for 2050 and decarbonisation of the UK's electricity grid, though allies of the new prime minister reportedly opposed these policies due to concerns about energy prices.