Ed Miliband under the mic in Liverpool this week at Labour’s conference

SENIOR Labour politicians faced tough questions from the Extra and its sister titles, Islington Tribune and Camden New Journal which sent two reporters in Liverpool this week for the Labour Party Conference.

Our filmed coverage can be watched on our politics channel on YouTube, PeepsOnline.

Environment secretary and former Labour leader Ed Miliband and the secretary of state for health and social care Wes Streeting were among Labour’s top brass to stop for questioning.

Asked whether the Labour Party was too busy jostling for positions with Reform UK to make meaningful statements about climate change, Mr Miliband said: “Not at all. I know that it’s not just me that cares about these issues. Keir – my local MP in London – cares deeply. For him, and for me, it is an essential for energy security, creating good jobs and doing the right thing for future generations.”

Pressed on why Sir Keir was not due to attend world leaders at the annual climate conference, COP, he said: “We will see what will happen with that. No one should doubt Keir’s commitment on this issue. I know that from my conversations with him. It’s not just him being committed to this issue. It’s Rachel Reeves, it’s the centre of our economic strategy. This is one of Keir’s five missions. It’s important to the government.”

Wes Streeting

Questioned on why Labour is so unpopular with the public right now, he said: “Lots of people are hurting and I have a view about why that’s happened. We have for 30 of the last 40 years been running the country in a way that is for the rich and powerful and not for ordinary people; and that’s what we exist to change.”

Meanwhile Mr Streeting was hinting at a new U-turn on the two-child benefit cap. The education secretary Bridget Phillipson said the two-child benefit cap has had a “devastating impact” as she signalled the government could soon lift it.

Asked on Monday about the party’s decision not to scrap the cap, introduced by the Conservatives in 2017, Mr Streeting told Extra: “Well, look, wait and see. I come from a family that would have been affected by this cap. You have heard about our historic commitment in a crusade against child policy. We have with just one policy lifted 100,000 children out of poverty by the expansion of school meals. There’s more to do. The two-child limit is one of those things we are actively discussing.”

Asked if he was at the centre of “a cruel” government, he responded: “I opposed the two-child limit when it came in for precisely this reason. We want to lift kids out of poverty. It’s something I and others have railed against many times. So watch this space. We’ve done a lot in our first year, but as Keir said there’s more to do.”

According to The Guardian newspaper, officials are considering whether there could be a tapered rate, so parents receive the most benefits for their first child and less for subsequent children.

Dame Emily and Owen Jones

• ONE of our films triggered a sparky debate when Islington South and Finsbury MP Dame Emily Thornberry accused journalist Owen Jones of being misogynistic over how he hounded female MPs with a camera and a mic. Mr Jones, who had his conference pass withdrawn by Labour, strongly refuted this and showed footage of him chasing a series of male politicians around.