Health Secretary Wes Streeting has offered a robust defence of the Labour government's recent series of policy U-turns, while simultaneously setting a stark target for improvement in the coming year.
A New Year's Resolution for Government
Speaking at the Institute for Government (IfG) conference on Tuesday, Mr Streeting suggested that after a string of about-turns, the party's resolution for 2026 should be to 'get it right first time'. This phrase is borrowed from an NHS initiative known as GIRFT, which the Health Secretary now wants to apply to broader governance.
When questioned on whether the reversals were hampering the government's progress, Streeting reframed the criticism as essential feedback. 'Feedback is the breakfast of champions,' he stated. 'We love to hear it and if people think we're getting it wrong - and we think that they're right - far better to do the right thing rather than to spare one's political blushes.'
The context for his comments includes significant policy shifts, such as the Treasury preparing a support package for pubs following backlash over business rate hikes. This follows earlier U-turns on plans to cut winter fuel payments for pensioners, reduce disability benefits, and soften proposed inheritance tax increases on farms.
Hitting Out at an 'Excuses Culture'
In his speech, Mr Streeting also took aim at figures within his own party who he accused of blaming Whitehall civil servants for political difficulties. He criticised what he described as a damaging 'excuses culture' on the centre-left.
'Bafflingly, some on my own side of the political divide have begun to parrot the same argument,' he told the audience. 'They complain about the civil service. They blame stakeholder capture. This excuses culture does the centre-left no favours. If we tell the public that we can’t make anything work, then why on earth would they vote to keep us in charge?'
This is widely seen as a veiled swipe at figures like Sir Keir Starmer's former Downing Street aide, Paul Ovenden, who recently lamented a 'Stakeholder State' that he claimed left ministers 'emasculated'.
Burnham Joins Criticism of Whitehall Power
Adding to the critique of central government machinery, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham used the same IfG event to accuse Whitehall departments of 'resisting' the devolution of powers needed to drive economic growth.
Mr Burnham claimed devolved mayors were forced to 'fight endlessly' to implement policies and accused different government departments of working at cross-purposes. 'We see some that are taking contradictory positions within one department with a contradictory position against another or indeed, resisting actively the growth mission,' he argued.
He called for sweeping reforms to the 'unelected state' of Whitehall, which he said holds too much power, and for a mirroring of local, place-based delivery models in Westminster. 'The whip system disempowers the elected state,' Burnham claimed, 'because often MPs are required to rubber-stamp the long-held departmental positions.'
The combined remarks from a senior cabinet minister and a prominent regional mayor highlight growing internal tensions and a focus on governmental efficiency as the Labour administration approaches its second year in power.
