Wes Streeting has resigned as health secretary, citing the government's failure to tackle nationalism and deliver real change. In his first Commons speech since quitting the cabinet, Streeting warned that Labour must be bolder or risk handing Downing Street to Reform UK.
Streeting reiterated his view that leaving the EU was a damaging mistake and argued that young people have been let down by a system stacked against them. He praised Prime Minister Keir Starmer for keeping the UK out of the US-Israel war against Iran but criticised the government's cautious approach.
“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,” Streeting told MPs. “The Labour party was elected to deliver real change. We still can.”
Streeting also highlighted the threat from nationalist parties across the UK, saying: “For the first time in our history, nationalists are in power in every corner of the United Kingdom. Scottish and Welsh nationalism represents an existential threat to the future integrity of the United Kingdom, and Reform UK represent a threat to the values and ideals that have made this country great.”
Maternity campaigners have expressed dismay at Streeting's resignation, accusing him of breaking promises to improve NHS maternity services. They noted that under his tenure, progress on safety and staffing had been slow.
Streeting concluded by calling for a renewed social contract for young people, stating: “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.”
