Former Foreign Secretary David Miliband has said he is โoptimisticโ about Andy Burnhamโs prospects of becoming the next Prime Minister.
Miliband told a think tank event in London on Friday that Burnham, who is widely expected to succeed Sir Keir Starmer as Labor Party leader and prime minister, has โthis openness and energy that I find very attractive and positive.โ
He said the expected appointment of former Labor cabinet minister James Purnell as Burnhamโs chief of staff in Downing Street was โfantasticโ.
โI havenโt lost my youthful optimism,โ Miliband said at an event organized by the Center for Global Development think tank.
โAndy Burnham, James (Purnell) and I came to the House of Commons at the same time in 2001, and I think (Burnham) has always had this remarkable ability to listen, to connect, to process data, ideas and information.โ
There had been speculation that Miliband, the older brother of Energy Secretary Ed Miliband, could return to front-line politics in Burnhamโs government.
He resigned as MP for South Shields in 2013 to become president and chief executive of the International Rescue Committee (IRC), a position he still holds.
Typically, the prime ministerโs cabinet consists of members of the House of Commons.
But in theory Miliband could join the cabinet if he were granted a peerage in the House of Lords, as former prime minister David Cameron was when he became foreign secretary in Rishi Sunakโs Conservative government.
Burnham has spoken largely about domestic policy since winning the Makerfield by-election and is due to give a speech on the economy and devolution on Monday.
At the event, the BBC asked Miliband what he wanted to tell the next prime minister about Britainโs aid spending and whether he would be interested in joining Burnhamโs government if he entered Downing Street.
Miliband said: โMy advice, of course, is to read IRC publications because they provide an evidence-based, innovative and cost-effective way of serving the most vulnerable and poor parts of the world. So, thatโs it.โ
When later asked if he had been in contact with Burnhamโs team lately, he did not answer.
Someone who knows Miliband told the BBC he would be โa great asset to Andy Burnhamโs cabinetโ, citing his international work on foreign affairs, humanitarian work and climate change.