Wes Streeting: PM-in-waiting or ‘this generation’s David Miliband’?
As the unofficial political truce of the king’s speech approached, with still no sign of a leadership challenge from Wes Streeting, some of his Labour colleagues assumed the health secretary’s chance to go for the top job might have passed for ever.“There is a risk he becomes the David Miliband of this generation if he doesn’t do something,” one MP said, a reference to another longtime heir apparent who never made the final step.But then, more or less exactly as the monarch’s state coach arrived at parliament, the briefings began: Streeting would resign, perhaps as early as Thursday, and push for a leadership election.What had changed? In one sense, nothing more than events.Streeting’s ambition has long been a subject for open discussion and frequent jokes within Labour, including self-deprecating ones from the man himself.
So while his allies played down the prospect of a bid as recently as the weekend, this was largely in the hope that Starmer would step down, or another candidate would enter the fray.Billed as “planning, not plotting”, the idea was to be ready if a contest began, rather than instigating one.On Monday morning, Peter Kyle, the business secretary and a close friend of Streeting, recounted to Sky News a recent joint trip for dinner and to watch The Devil Wears Prada 2, questioning if a man hellbent on a leadership bid would have the time for such leisurely fripperies.Two things shifted the narrative.Firstly, Starmer clung on, even after an underwhelming “reset” speech on Monday morning, suffering no worse damage than the resignation of a few junior ministers, mainly allied to Streeting, and no open challenges beyond a short and slightly whimsical one from the backbencher Catherine West.
Secondly, as the days dragged on, Downing Street and its allies began to brief with increasing vehemence and apparent glee that the health secretary was a busted flush, had “bottled it”, or was unable to raise the necessary 80 extra MPs needed to trigger a contest,Adding to the sense of seemingly deliberate humiliation after Streeting sought a private chat with the prime minister following Tuesday morning’s cabinet meeting and was rebuffed, he was granted a meeting, albeit one entirely on Starmer’s terms,Thus Streeting braved the shouts of TV crews on Downing Street just after 8,30am on Wednesday, going inside to emerge – according to various counts – either 16 or 17 minutes later,The message was clear: this was a minor chore the prime minister had to clear before getting on with the main business of the day.
Even opponents had some sympathy.Paul Scully, the Conservative former minister who lost his seat in 2024, likened it to “a meeting without coffee”, saying this was the code used among Tories for “a summons by the chief whip for a bollocking”.Scully added: “Not sure that was the look Wes Streeting was going for.”According to close allies, Starmer has always believed that Streeting would not be able to command the support of the parliamentary party and the membership – and also that he would be the only one likely to challenge him directly if Andy Burnham, the Greater Manchester mayor, was not in parliament.“It’s why we felt so confident that Keir would not have to resign – they thought he can be bullied out but he can’t,” one close ally of the prime minister said.
Somebody from a rival camp was even more blunt: “The Wes operation has been shown to be totally pathetic,”The health secretary’s team, however, had other ideas,On Tuesday night, his supporters rang some MPs, telling them not to believe what they were reading in the papers, and that Streeting still had designs on the leadership, and they should hold their nerve,Nonetheless, the timing of any bid, and even its very viability, remain unclear,Among the MPs called by Streeting’s allies to seek out support are some very obviously on the left of the party, who would not seem to be his natural supporters, indicating that the net is being thrown wide to collect the names of the necessary 80 MPs, or 20% of the parliamentary party.
Some MPs were lobbied with vehemence, urged to sign up or risk missing out.And while Thursday was billed as the expected moment, even this was not entirely clear.Supporters of Streeting insisted it would happen, saying more ministers loyal to him would resign first.But there was no confirmation from the health secretary’s camp.For now, at least officially, he is a loyal health secretary.
Streeting’s only public comment on Wednesday was a tweet pre-set to run during the king’s speech, highlighting achievements in his ministerial brief, adding: “Lots done, lots to do”,This suggested he might not have been behind the precise timing of the news that he was planning to run, something which annoyed some cabinet colleagues by emerging just before the king began his address,Downing Street also joined the pretence, with Starmer’s official spokesperson telling a lunchtime media briefing that the PM still had full confidence in his health secretary, though this reassurance had not been certain,Asked by the BBC shortly beforehand if Streeting was still in post, Hilary Benn, the Northern Ireland secretary, replied: “I don’t know, why don’t you ask him?”What happens next has numerous permutations, made more complex by the decisions other camps may make,If Streeting reaches the MP threshold and launches a contest, Starmer will – at least, according to allies – fight him, in the hope of winning the vote of Labour members.
But a direct Starmer-Streeting battle would be deeply unappealing to a number of Labour MPs, meaning someone from the party’s left, whether Ed Miliband, the energy secretary, or Angela Rayner, Starmer’s former deputy, could dive in,But at the same time, such is the dislike of Starmer among some of his MPs that in a straight contest with Streeting, even some leftwingers would back the health secretary,“I’d pick Andy if we go later, but if it’s now, it’s Wes,” one said,Some MPs and ministers say Streeting and his team have done the hard work on policy preparation, and would be ready to govern,And even his detractors acknowledge that he is a significantly better media performer than Starmer.
None of this matters, however, if Streeting either never launches a bid, or – like David Miliband – he enters a race and loses.Even now, some allies of Starmer argue there is more hype than substance, not just with Streeting but also possible contenders on the left.One said: “All the months both sides have been saying they have been planning not plotting, and yet have so monumentally fucked up the first stage it is embarrassing.I can’t wait for them to be in government for two months before they start blaming the comms.”
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