Kemi Badenoch says Chancellor Ed Miliband would be a 'disaster' for Britain - as she compares him to a Nigerian military dictator in brutal energy tirade

By CHRISTIAN CALGIE, SENIOR POLITICAL CORRESPONDENT-AT-LARGE Published: 17:49, 29 June 2026 | Updated: 17:50, 29 June 2026 Kemi Badenoch has warned that Ed Miliband's appointment as Chancellor would be a 'disaster for our country', as she called on Andy Burnham to sack the Energy Secretary. In a brutal broadside, Ms Badenoch branded Mr Miliband 'the villain' of Britain's energy crisis, and doubled down on claims he is akin to a Nigerian military dictator. She warned Mr Burnham, who is still yet to announce any Cabinet picks ahead of his coronation in three weeks' time, that he should 'sack Ed Miliband, not make him Chancellor'. The Tory leader blasted: 'There aren't many options [for Chancellor] - they couldn't even pick a Prime Minister from the 400 people in parliament, they had to go and get the mayor of Greater Manchester to do it!' 'I do know that it should not be Ed Miliband. He is the single person who has done the most to deindustrialise our country and make us poorer. 'He should not be rewarded with an even more powerful job where he can completely bankrupt the country. 'So it's slim pickings, I have to admit, but absolutely not Ed Miliband - that would be a disaster for our country.' Following a week of accusations that she has been too rude about Labour's senior politicians, Ms Badenoch doubled down on a previous accusation that Mr Miliband has been behaving like a military dictator from her home country. Kemi Badenoch launched a brutal broadside of Ed Miliband, as she branded him a 'villain' The Tory leader compared Mr Miliband to a Nigerian military dictator, whose state-controlled energy policies ravaged the country The Nigerian-raised Tory boss hit back: 'There's so much language policing! 'Why are you using this language? Why are you using that language?' Look at what's happening in the country. 'Let's stop looking at hurty words and look at the people who are hurting the country!' 'Many people know that my childhood was spent in Nigeria. Nigeria is an oil producing country that never had any electricity. Why? Because it had bad policies from military dictatorships. People who didn't care what the country wanted. 'They imposed socialism on the country, they took over all of the oil production, they had a national state oil producer, and it failed. Ed Miliband is actually doing the same thing. 'He wants to do more state control. He has terrible policies that are reducing our capacity, reducing our energy security. So having lived under both I think I'm uniquely placed to make that comparison.' Ms Badenoch's warning about the perils of a potential Miliband Chancellorship followed similar interventions from trade unions, bankers and Labour MPs since Mr Burnham's victory. Sharon Graham, the leader of the Unite union, warned he will put a 'noose around the neck' of jobs in British industry, something Mr Burnham said would be a key plank of his premiership. Andy Burnham is yet to announce a pick for Chancellor, amid a chorus of voices warning it must not be Mr Miliband Ms Badenoch also criticised Mr Burnham's devolution agenda, accusing him of running 'scared' from taking crucial decisions Similarly, entrepreneurs like Hotelier Sir Rocco Forte have said that Red Ed taking charge of the nation's purse strings will send 'a shudder through the business community' because of his 'anti-growth, high-tax, anti-enterprise thinking'. Speaking in central London this morning, Ms Badenoch warned that Britain faces a 'summer of chaos' under Mr Burnham. She accused the Makerfield MP of presenting 'old hat' ideas about devolution - previously pushed by Boris Johnson's government - but with all the good bits stripped out. But the Tory chief added that Mr Burnham's plans to devolve power to mayors and local authorities will not be a 'silver bullet' to the country's woes, accusing him of 'hiding' behind devolution to cover up for his own lack of answers. Ms Badenoch told the Mail: 'We have seen so much go wrong because politicians have been outsourcing decisions and responsibility to councils, quangos, the OBR - no one is making decisions!' 'What I hear when Andy Burnham talks about more devolution is he doesn't actually know what he wants to do, and so he wants to pass the problem somewhere else. 'We took powers from the EU - let's use them! Why are so many politicians so scared? I think Andy Burnham is afraid of taking difficult decisions.' The comments below have not been moderated. The views expressed in the contents above are those of our users and do not necessarily reflect the views of MailOnline. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? 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