Ed Miliband’s dreams of No11 at risk as locals plot countryside coup

Ed Miliband’s dreams of No11 are at risk as locals in his own backyard are plotting a countryside coup to oust the Chancellor hopeful, GB News can reveal.

With leadership frontrunner Andy Burnham expected to become Prime Minister in a matter of weeks, the Energy Secretary is rumoured to be one step closer to taking over as Britain’s Chancellor of the Exchequer.

Some of Britain’s biggest unions have warned against appointing Mr Miliband to the top job over fears his left-leaning tendencies could “spook” the markets, a concern echoed by party insiders.

His devout commitment to his Net Zero agenda and his unwavering aversion to drilling in the North Sea has fuelled concerns from big businesses about the markets’ stability on Mr Miliband’s watch.

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Meanwhile, some of the US President's closest allies have issued a stern warning that such an appointment would be a "mistake", with Donald Trump describing Mr Miliband's Net Zero agenda as "stupid".

Nonetheless, a few of Burnham’s closest allies have come out to support the former leader’s bid to move in next door to the Prime Minister, while one source close to Mr Burnham said his chances were about “50/50”.

Lucy Powell, Labour’s deputy leader, said he would be “good” as Chancellor but batted away any further speculation about Mr Miliband’s fate.

Whether or not the Doncaster North MP is appointed as Chancellor, disillusionment with the governing party could throw a spanner in the works for the former Labour leader.

His constituents, whose support will make or break the future of the politician at the next general election, have fallen out of love with their representative.

The rose-tinted glasses of having a frontbencher represent their home are long gone for a number of Yorkshire voters, who now despise Mr Miliband’s disregard for his own constituency.

“He’s a goner,” one former Labour voter, Jonathan Holdsworth, told GB News. “You never see him, he’s never here. He's hated here. He won't get back in.”

Asked which political party he will turn to when Britons head to the polls at the next general election, he bluntly replied: “Not Labour.”

In fact, it is his own work as Energy Secretary, which appears to be his poisoned chalice, with Doncaster voters railing against three major solar farm proposals across the area:

• Marr Solar Farm
• Whitestone Solar Farm; and
• Fenwick Solar Farm

The largest, Whitestone Solar Farm, is located in South Yorkshire between Rotherham and Doncaster, and impacts three Labour constituencies: Ed Miliband’s, former Defence Secretary John Healey’s and Jake Richards’.

Initial plans projected the scheme to smother 3,500 acres of land. However, after two rounds of consultation, Whitestone said it made “significant changes to the project design”.

Mr Healey and Mr Richards have criticised the proposed development, while the Doncaster and Rotherham councils, as well as the mayors of Doncaster and South Yorkshire, have formally objected to the plans.

Mr Holdsworth, who lives next to the would-be site with his two teenage daughters, 17 and 19, was incredulous at Mr Miliband’s “craziness”.

“It's madness. He's not listening to anybody around him, and he's just going ahead with it, and it's just craziness,” the Yorkshireman told GB News.

“I can't understand how anybody who can be that blind to what the people want is making the decisions,” he said.

The ex-Labour voter warned the green belt land is some of the only land in the area for working people who cannot afford green spaces of their own.

As a result, its destruction would have a detrimental impact on locals’ wellbeing and mental health.

ED MILIBAND'S SOLAR FARM 'LAND GRAB':

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• Blackout fears as Ed Miliband's solar power push threatens to overwhelm electricity grid
• Net zero fury as 1,300-acre solar farm approved in Ed Miliband’s constituency

“Look how many people are losing their livelihoods and work on that land,” he said.

He added that it would “destroy his life”, as well as the value on his own properties, along with his rental income.

“They just don't care, and [Ed Miliband] is so caught up in Net Zero, and he will not listen. He needs to listen, because he's destroying lives,” he said.

The Planning Inspectorate is due to make a decision whether to accept, not accept or allow the applicant to withdraw by Wednesday.

But Mr Miliband’s constituency has also grown tired of a representative who appears overly obsessed with Parliament’s playground politics.

While Mr Holdsworth lives within Mr Healey’s constituency boundary of Cronisborough and Rawmarsh, his friends over the border have never seen the Energy Secretary in their town.

“He shows up for his photoshoots, and then he leaves,” he added. “He's so hated by the people because he doesn't do anything for them.

“The reason why he came here is because it's an old mining village, and it was a big Labour area. It was a safe seat.”

Mr Miliband became MP for Doncaster North in 2005 and has held onto the party stronghold for 21 years. At the last election, he won a majority of 9,126 with 52 per cent of the vote.

“But that's changed,” Mr Holdsworth said.

In May, the City of Doncaster Council welcomed 34 Reform UK representatives, with Labour in second place with 13.

Rachel Reed, a Reform UK councillor, won her seat back when Mr Farage stormed to power in the 2025 Local Elections.

“We all said it's a Red Wall seat. We won't get in. We've had Labour councillors forever. We were so shocked,” Ms Reed told GB News.

The novelty of having a high-flying household name in their constituency had “definitely” faded over the years, she added.

With plenty of public meetings to attend, Mr Miliband’s attendance has noticeably fallen short.

“We never see him at anything,” Ms Reed scoffed.

She said: “People have had enough, he’s the Net Zero seller, that's what people say, that he's just all for Net Zero, whereas we should be prioritising affordability, jobs, energy security, food security…

“People are angry and I’m hopeful that, with a general election tomorrow, he would not get voted in.”

She said residents were treated as “sacrificial lambs” all over Doncaster for Net Zero schemes, as well as across the country.

“Ed Miliband's not interested, he doesn't want to listen to anybody, he's just quite happy to sign all the land off for Net Zero,” a Reform source in Doncaster chimed in. “That’s the word on the street.”

Earlier this year, the pollsters at More in Common projected Nigel Farage’s party would scoop up a staggering 43 per cent of the constituency vote at the next general election.

Mr Miliband’s vote share, meanwhile, is due to collapse to a measly 13 per cent.

Last year, Jeremy Clarkson teased running against the Energy Secretary in his constituency, setting tongues wagging with a cheeky online proposition.

"People of Doncaster North," Mr Clarkson beckoned. "Are you happy with your MP? Would you like it if someone from your neck of the woods kicked him out?"

The 65-year-old TV star turned farmer previously threatened to topple Ed Miliband in 2013 as well.

The views on the Energy Secretary in his constituency appear to be a microcosm of Britain’s view on the Chancellor wannabe as a whole.

Britain’s largest solar farm in Norfolk, East Pye Solar Farm, has triggered a wave of fury from locals in the east of England who have lived there their entire lives.

Despite calls from homeowners, local politicians and the Ministry of Defence to shut the plans down, the final decision ultimately rests with the Secretary of State.

David Hook, who is the chairman of Hempnall Parish Council in South Norfolk, told GB News of his fightback against the “atrocious” plans.

The 2,800-acre green project has already wreaked havoc on more than 20 quaint villages across the area, including the picturesque Hempnall and Saxlingham.

Officials even approached homeowners last year with “bully boy tactics”, threatening to evict couples and families if they refused to offer up their land for purchase.

Equivalent to 1,700 football pitches, the treasured land is earmarked for solar panels, new roads, inverted buildings, which look like the only container substations, covering four or five acres each and stretching up to 15 metres.

“It would transform a pleasant agricultural landscape into an industrial health, to not put too fine a point on it,” Mr Hook, a trustee for the Campaign to Protect Rural England Norfolk, explained to Britain’s News Channel.

But the locals accused Mr Miliband’s Department for Energy Security and Net Zero (Desnz) of “conniving” with Island Green Power, the applicant, to prioritise specific projects.

Shadow-ready projects should be done first, with the remainder of the list being relegated to the queue.

Island Green’s projects, including East Pye, felt “threatened” because their scheme would be thrown onto the back burner.

But because there was said to be a “lot of investment at stake”, the projects were brought forward through "secret deals".

Mr Hook said: “Lo and behold, the two Island Green projects in Norfolk, the Droves and here in South Norfolk, are the ones who got two promises for grid connection, and the other two major mega solar ones, Passway and High Grove, haven't.

“There's something very suspicious going on there between Ed Miliband’s department and the applicant, and which is sinister and nasty.”

Ultimately, he blamed Mr Miliband’s “naive” self-belief that he would “go down in history as the man who brought Net Zero to Britain”.

But Island Green fiercely bit back at the “groundless accusations”.

A spokesman told GB News: “All grid connections have been assessed by the National Energy System Operator using published methodology and criteria, resulting in an independently reformed grid connection queue.

“IGP’s grid connections have not been prioritised in any other way.

"National Grid confirmed publicly in a recent Examination Hearing for The Droves that it is not prioritising that particular grid connection, which is positioned behind other projects in the queue.

“IGP also ensures that it engages with local stakeholders in a proactive and considerate manner.”

Meanwhile, a Desnz spokesman said: “The biggest threat to agriculture and nature is the climate crisis.

“Solar is one of the cheapest and quickest forms of energy to build – getting us off fossil fuels and delivering energy security so we can get bills down for good.

“All projects are subject to a rigorous planning process and the views of the local community must be taken into account.”

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