What Wes Streeting said in his resignation letter – and what he meant

Wes Streeting resigned as health minister on Thursday afternoon, launching a blistering attack on the prime minister.

While the ambitious MP is not expected to immediately spark a formal leadership race, the intervention has undermined Sir Keir Starmer’s already troubled authority and made a challenge even more likely in the coming weeks.

Here, Independent It describes what Mr Streeting said in his letter and exactly what he meant.

‘There is a gap where we need vision. ‘We are drifting where we should find direction’

Here Wes Streeting addresses one of the most common criticisms of the prime minister: that he lacks a vision for the government.

The Prime Minister’s ideological pragmatism perhaps earned him his landslide election victory; because he managed to transform himself into a party leader who brought together a broad, if shallow, coalition to secure the keys to No. 10.

But it’s also what makes him struggle so much while in office. He is more of a technocrat than a visionary, and that means the prime minister is increasingly stuck in the day-to-day running of the country rather than delivering the sweeping change he has promised, which voters desperately need.

‘Leaders take responsibility, but often that means stepping on other people’s swords too’

Sir Keir Starmer has overseen a major staff turnover in senior positions across the government as he repeatedly sought to reset the agenda amid growing criticism of his premiership.

The Prime Minister has sacked many key players in his administration, from his former private secretary Sue Gray, who was sacked just months after entering government, to Foreign Office chief Sir Olly Robbins.

Mr Streeting makes it clear that he thinks it is time for the prime minister to fall on his own sword rather than let others take the blame for him, as he has done many times before.

‘You should also listen to your colleagues, including those in the background; A harsh approach towards dissenting voices weakens our policy.’

Mr Streeting’s letter also highlights Sir Keir’s claim that he has failed to listen to advice and has suppressed dissenting voices.

This was seen in the tight control he exerted over his backbenchers, repeatedly taking away the whip from MPs who rebelled against things such as the two-child allowance limit or welfare changes.

‘It is now clear that you will not be leading Labor at the next general election and that Labor MPs and Labor unions want the debate about what happens next to be a battle of ideas, not personalities or petty factionalism.

‘It needs to be large and it needs the best candidate field possible. I support this approach and hope you will facilitate it.’

The former health minister is trying to make it clear that he has the party’s interests in mind rather than his own ambitions. While many saw his resignation letter as the first shot fired in the leadership struggle, his allies are now saying: Independent He said he would not be launching a contest today, instead pointing to this line of the letter.

It is increasingly clear that Mr Streeting is trying to evade accusations that he is self-serving or overly ambitious; This charge will almost certainly be leveled against him if it triggers a quick contest before his rival Andy Burnham, seen as the most popular choice, has a chance of returning to Westminster.

Mr Streeting also hopes the prime minister will choose to resign voluntarily rather than force him to use a knife and face treason charges.