At Rabbi Sacks Memorial Lecture, David Miliband Calls for Renewed Democratic Guardrails

David Miliband, President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee and former UK Foreign Secretary, delivered the 2026 Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks Annual Memorial Lecture at the London School of Economics and Political Science on Thursday.

Speaking to a packed audience, Miliband addressed the theme “Kings, Priests and Prophets: Power and its Missing Guardrails,” drawing on Rabbi Sacks’ reflections on power, leadership and the moral limits of authority.

The lecture explored one of the central themes in Rabbi Sacks’ thought: the necessity of power, the dangers of its abuse, and the moral, civic and institutional guardrails needed to keep power in check.

Drawing on Rabbi Sacks’ interpretation of the biblical balance between kings, priests and prophets, Miliband argued that today’s world faces a renewed challenge of unchecked power, democratic backsliding and the erosion of the rule of law. He called for the renewal of democratic institutions and the strengthening of what he described as “countervailing power” in society.

“We have, in my view, a dual task in the face of new and powerful forces of impunity,” Miliband said. “We must defend our inheritance of democratic institutions and the rule of law. But defence on its own is not enough… We need to renew our inheritance for an age when improvisation, agility, innovation are the coin of the realm.”

Reflecting on Rabbi Sacks’ enduring relevance, Miliband said: “Today, in these times of political rupture, economic danger, societal doubt, international flux, we miss him sorely. But Jonathan can still offer us wisdom and guidance, because he left so much inspiration and instruction in his books, speeches and sermons.”

He also reflected warmly on his personal relationship with Rabbi Sacks, recalling their regular meetings in the 1990s when Miliband was Head of Policy for Tony Blair. “I remember vividly Jonathan’s curiosity, patience and kindness; his patriotism and his internationalism; his belief that communities could be pluralist in perspective yet united in commitment,” he said.

Stuart Roden, who chaired the lecture, commented: “The Rabbi Sacks Legacy has done some extraordinary work since Rabbi Sacks’ passing, in particular, in carrying the light of his teachings through a range of exciting and original programmes. The Annual Memorial Lecture invites people who not only had a personal connection to Rabbi Sacks, but who also build on his thinking.”

Gila Sacks said David Miliband’s lecture had helped those present “take a step back from the moment we now face, to remember the power we each hold in our hands,” adding that Rabbi Sacks always taught that “history is something we make with our choices, and that we can all choose to make better ones.”

The Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks Annual Memorial Lecture addresses the major issues facing society, stimulating debate about morality and social policy while connecting audiences to the ideas Rabbi Sacks championed as a global moral voice. The 2026 lecture followed previous keynote addresses by Gordon Brown and Lord Rowan Williams.

David Miliband has served as President and CEO of the International Rescue Committee since 2013, overseeing the organisation’s humanitarian work in more than 40 crisis-affected countries, as well as its refugee resettlement and assistance programmes in the Americas and Europe. He previously served as the United Kingdom’s Foreign Secretary from 2007 to 2010.

Photo credit: Meron Percey Photography