Streeting launches scathing attack on Starmer – and calls for UK to rejoin EU | Wes Streeting
Wes Streeting has launched a scathing attack on what he describes as Keir Starmer’s “bad” leadership culture and claims it is stifling creative policy thinking in government.
Streeting criticized the effectiveness of Labour’s first two years in power (all of which he spent in cabinet), saying Labor “came into government very much unprepared and lacking a clear vision and direction”.
The former health secretary, who is expected to launch a leadership challenge in the coming weeks, also described Starmer’s proposed winter fuel cut – one of the most unpopular policies in the government so far – as a “disaster”.
Addressing a left-wing police conference, Streeting said the party had not had a real debate about its direction since the Corbyn era and that Labor needed a “battle of ideas” in any upcoming leadership contest.
He said: “The moral emergency created by antisemitism in our party left little room for intellectual renewal or policy debate on the centre-left. “We then had a dishonest leadership race, followed by extreme caution in the opposition.
“Interesting policy ideas couldn’t be put forward because we were too afraid of what the Conservatives would say, so we said nothing. Instead of challenging ideas and kicking the tyres, the debate was seen as division and closure.”
He added: “We have brought this culture into government with a heavy-handed approach where backbenchers are berated for quirky private member bills that are not government policy, such as banning smartphones in schools.
“That’s why we need a proper contest where all candidates can do their best. It should be a battle of ideas so that whoever wins comes out stronger.”
The Ilford North MP is expected to set out his vision for the country in the coming weeks ahead of the official launch of the leadership challenge. Sources close to Streeting say he will focus on closer ties with Europe and make tech companies more responsible for their platforms.
Streeting called Brexit a “catastrophic mistake”, saying Britain should rejoin the European Union, and suggested a closer relationship with Europe would help “rebuild our economy and trade and improve our defenses against the common threats of Russian aggression and America First”.
He also criticized the spread of misinformation online, saying the country “chose to hand the pen to tech moguls in Silicon Valley to write our future for us. It’s time to take the pen back.”
“What we have experienced in our country in recent months is a type of racism we have not seen on our streets since the 1970s and 80s,” Streeting said. “Our country’s flags fly from lampposts and overpasses, not as a symbol of national pride, but as a symbol of division: a message that these flags belong to people who look like me, not to people who look like our mayor of London.”
Streeting’s intervention comes after Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham was given the nod by Labour’s national executive committee to stand as a candidate in the upcoming by-elections in Makerfield. Streeting is believed to rival Burnham in any challenge to the prime minister.
Proposing a debate with Burnham and others, Streeting said: “Change starts with a debate. You can’t make progress without a debate. That’s why this week I called for a battle of ideas, not personalities.”
