Keir Starmer’s premiership is in fresh peril today after his former health secretary tore into the government for overseeing a period of managed decline. In a speech in central London this morning Wes Streeting blasted leadership rival Andy Burnham as well, accusing him of making “expensive and popular pledges” which would only appeal to his party’s left-wing membership.
And Mr Streeting insisted he had the support of 81 Labour MPs – enough to launch a leadership bid to depose Sir Keir. In his latest major speech since quitting the Cabinet, the Ilford MP said that recent arguments about the country’s defence spending underlined “the case for change” and “the need for stronger leadership”. The United Kingdom was in decline, he added in a brazen swipe against his own party, before saying he planned to set out “alternative vision for Britain’s future” which was focused on “progressive capitalism”.
Mr Streeting resigned from Sir Keir’s cabinet after the local elections, and is widely believed to be scheming to depose the Prime Minister and install himself in No10. In a lengthy speech he warned leadership rivals against “a Dutch auction of the most expensive and popular pledges to appeal to the party faithful at the expense of the British people.”
He promised not to “play fast and loose” with the nation’s finances, in an apparent swipe at Mr Burnham – who has pledged more money for defence. “You won’t find me making pledges to win your vote in a leadership election only to let you down after the ballots are counted,” Mr Streeting declared.
All eyes are now on the make or break Makerfield by election this Thursday, which was triggered after Labour MP Josh Simons quit the seat to open a pathway for the Mayor to get back to Westminster. Reform are snapping at the heels of Mr Burnham, who is the favourite to win – he will launch a leadership bid if he does so.
But a defiant Sir Keir said he would “bring back the change that people desperately need”, as he pledged “to carry on with what I was elected to do”. Speaking to the Daily Express at the G7 summit in France he reminded people: “We got a landslide victory in 2024 for a five-year mandate for this Labour Government.
“I said at the time we will both invest in our public services and we will grow our economy, and many people said to me at the time, just as they’re saying things to me now, that’s not possible here.
“If you look at the results, we have invested in our NHS, waiting lists have come down, biggest drop in 17 years just the other week, and at the same time our economy is stable, and we’ve got the highest growth in the G7 at the moment.”