Wes Streeting has warned that Labour must be bolder and deliver genuine change or risk losing to nationalist parties, in his first speech in the House of Commons since resigning as health secretary. He told MPs that he left the government because it was "currently losing" the fight against populist nationalism.
Streeting's Resignation and Warning
Streeting resigned last week and called on Prime Minister Keir Starmer to step down. While he did not launch a formal leadership challenge, he used the king's speech debate to criticise the government's approach, saying it had been too cautious and allowed parties such as Reform UK to hijack patriotism. "Never waste a minute – that’s been my mantra in government, and it’s why I don’t believe our party has time to waste in government treading water," he said. "The Labour party was elected to deliver real change. We still can."
Nationalism as an Existential Threat
Streeting took aim not only at Reform UK but also at the SNP and Plaid Cymru, arguing that nationalism poses an existential threat to the UK. "I left the government because we are in the fight of our lives against nationalism, and it is a fight that we are currently losing," he stated. "Unless we change course, we risk handing the keys of No 10 to Reform, and I do not want that on our consciences." He added that for the first time, nationalists are in power across the UK, threatening its integrity and values.
Patriotism and Division
Streeting called for a broader, more inclusive patriotism, saying, "For too long and for too often, patriotism in Britain has been left to the loudest voices and the narrowest arguments, as though love of country belongs to one tribe, one party, or one point of view." He emphasised that division is a political trick and that Britain deserves better. "The nurse from Nigeria is not the enemy of the factory worker in Newcastle. The family fleeing war is not responsible for the cost of living crisis," he added.
EU and Intergenerational Contract
Streeting reiterated his view that leaving the EU was a mistake, especially given the current global landscape with unpredictable superpowers. He also highlighted a breakdown in the intergenerational contract, with young people bearing the burden of Covid, struggling to afford homes, and facing job displacement from AI. "Patriotism isn’t a lecture the old deliver to the young. It’s a relationship, and for generations, Britain understood that relationship as a social contract," he said, calling on the country to fight for its youth.
