In his Today interview, when Ed Miliband said that Keir Starmer has a “burning passion” to end the “class divide” in British politics (see 9.15am), Nick Robinson, the presenter, said that Miliband would be accused of promoting class war.

It was a fair guess. Within minutes, a Mail journalist posted this on social media.

Ed Miliband suggests Starmer will now wage a new class war: ‘What angers Keir most is class, the class divide – he exists to change that.
‘I dispute the idea this is not someone driven by burning passion.
‘He knows we need more of that and we are going to see more of that

When Robinson put it to him that he was suggesting class war, Miliband replied:

Come off it …

It’s not class war, Nick.

It means that so many people from working class backgrounds are looked down upon in our country, are held back in our country, whether it’s from not getting an apprenticeship, not being able to rise up. The inequalities we face hold people back.

Keir is about changing that, not just social mobility for a few, but recognition for everybody, a decent life for everybody. That’s what motivates him.

Absolute balderdash that it’s about class war.

Good morning. One consequence of yesterday – when for a few hours it looked as if Tim Allan’s resignation and Anas Sarwar’s declaration of no confidence looked like the start of a leadership coup that would have topped Keir Starmer if cabinet ministers (and Angela Rayner) had not rallied round – is that Starmer needs a new communications director at No 10.

Listening to the morning media round, it sounds like he should appoint Ed Miliband. Because the energy secretary did an excellent job defending Starmer, in terms that implied Starmer’s premiership isn’t, or at least shouldn’t be, terminally damaged.

Miliband’s most important message came in his interview in the Today programme, when he argued that what happened yesterday had to be “a moment of change” for the Labour government.

Referring to what happened yesterday, Miliband said:

Labour MPs looked over the precipice, once Anas Sarwar made his statement, and they didn’t like what they saw.

And they thought the right thing to do was to unite behind Keir, to focus on the country, because we didn’t want to go down the road of the Tories when they were in power – chaotic, disorderly leadership contest.

But I want to be very clear; Peter Mandelson should never have been appointed to this post. We are a government whose central purpose, I believe, is to stand up for the powerless, not the powerful, and it undermines that.

And this has got to be … a moment of change where we have much greater clarity of purpose, avoid some of the mistakes that we’ve made, but also focus outwards on the country.

Miliband said that the govermment was doing lots of good things, but they were being “drowned out” by policy mistakes like getting rid of winter fuel payments. (Sarwar made exactly this point yesterday, also using the phrase “drowned out”.) Miliband said that in politics “what gets you through is a sense of your values and your moral mission” and he said that Starmer had a mission like that.

For 20 years, this country has been run for the wealthy and powerful, not ordinary working people. And the manifestation of that is this long-term cost of living crisis. We we exist to change that. That is our mission and everything must be consistent with that purpose.

Miliband said the public were “angry”, and they wanted “boldness” for political leaders.

But when the presenter, Nick Robinson, put it Miliband that, while Starmer has many strengths, boldness is not one of them, Miliband said he did not accept that.

I know Keir well. I know somebody who is in politics for all the right reasons.

I’ll tell you what angers Keir most about this country. It’s class. It’s the class divide … He exists to change that. I absolutely dispute the idea that this isn’t somebody driven by burning passion about the injustices our country faces and how we need to change them. We need more of that. He knows we need more of that. I think we’re going to see more of that.

Often in the interview it sounded as if Miliband were talking as much about his beliefs as about Starmer’s. But, asked if he wanted to be leader himself, he insisted that he didn’t. “Tried that, got the t-shirt,” he said.

I will post more from the Miliband interviews soon.

Here is the agenda for the day.

Morning: Keir Starmer chairs a political cabinet.

Morning: Kemi Badenoch is in a visit in London.

11.30am: Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, takes questions in the Commons.

Noon: Downing Street holds a lobby briefing.

12.20pm: Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, speaks at a Resolution Foundation conference.

1.30pm: Eluned Morgan, the Welsh first minister, takes questions in the Senedd. Unlike her Scottish Labour counterpart, she has yet to comment on yesterday’s Keir Starmer leadership crisis.

2.30pm: Sir Mark Rowley, the Metropolitan police commissioner, gives evidence to the Commons home affairs committee.

Afternoon: Starmer is expected to do a visit.

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