ED Miliband’s wife has said he cannot run for Labour leader because she is still traumatised over being mocked for having two kitchens, party insiders say.
The Energy Secretary is widely rumoured to be considering another tilt at the leadership if Sir Keir Starmer is toppled from No10.
But his wife Justine – a High Court Judge – is said to be determined to stop him because she is still scarred by the ‘Two Kitchen Miliband’ saga.
A senior Labour Party source said: “There is only one thing stopping Ed from running – Mrs Ed.
“She has told him no. They have already lived in the glare once – remember the debacle with the two kitchens?”
The row exploded in 2015 when Ed Miliband – Labour leader at the time – and his wife Justine were filmed by the BBC in a small austere looking kitchen.
But it turned out they had a second bigger kitchen in their posh Highgate home – sparking accusations he had used the small kitchenette to try to appear more humble than he really was.
Ed was swiftly dubbed ‘Two Kitchens Miliband’.
The Milibands decided to knock down the second kitchen as they loathed it so much in the wake of the outcry
Labour were optimistic they would win the 2015 election, but they suffered a shock defeat after a campaign hit by a series of embarrassing gaffes.
These included an awkward photo of Ed eating a bacon sandwich and the doomed Ed Stone – a limestone slab with his pledges inscribed in it which looked like a headstone.
Mr Miliband’s team dismissed talk he is considering running for leader, and referred to comments he made last November backing Keir Starmer.
He said: “I support Keir.
“But I’ve had the inoculation technique against wanting to be Leader of the Labour Party because I was the Leader of the Labour Party, and that was a very successful inoculation.”
