LONDON(National Times)- Wes Streeting, Britain\u2019s health secretary until he quit his post earlier this week, has become the first MP to confirm publicly he will bid to replace Prime Minister Keir Starmer as leader of the ruling Labour party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Widely credited as one of the party\u2019s best communicators, the ebullient 43-year-old hails from a working class background and the right flank of the centre-left party.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A fixture on the airwaves during the 2024 general election, his profile has grown further helming the government department responsible for the cherished but beleaguered National Health Service (NHS) in England.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Rumours have swirled for months he was eyeing a leadership challenge amid Starmer\u2019s protracted political struggles, earning the scorn of some Labour colleagues unconvinced by the wisdom of a contest or Streeting\u2019s credentials. In his resignation letter, Streeting said he had \u201clost confidence\u201d in Starmer\u2019s leadership, arguing he lacked vision and a sense of direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In a speech on Saturday, he called for a \u201cproper contest\u201d to replace the premier and announced \u201cI\u2019ll be standing\u201d \u2014 though he was yet to formally trigger that contest.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A direct-speaking, polished media performer to his plaudits, a disloyal right-leaning opportunist to critics, the baby-faced politician increasingly divides opinion within Labour\u2019s ranks while his popularity nationwide is largely untested.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe has got a very acute political sense and an ability to communicate,\u201d Steven Fielding, a contemporary British politics expert at the University of Nottingham said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBut there are certain questions about his politics and how well they fit with at least where the Labour Party is today, and in terms of how different he might be to Keir Starmer.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u2018Authentic working class\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Streeting\u2019s pro-market, anti-Brexit outlook and other centrist stances could prove problematic with Labour members charged with choosing a new leader \u2014 who automatically becomes prime minister given the party won the last election.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Born to teen parents and raised on a municipal East London housing complex, Streeting frequently highlights his humble upbringing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He has spoken about his maternal grandmother giving birth in a London prison, while his grandfather was an armed robber who knew notorious London gangsters the Kray Brothers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cMy family … are very, very far removed from the Westminster bubble,\u201d he told a podcast last year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n After attending a state-funded school and Cambridge University, he entered politics through the centrist think tank Progress, founded in the 1990s by allies of ex-prime minister Tony Blair.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Elected an MP for an east London seat in 2015, he was a critic of the party\u2019s leftward shift under then-leader Jeremy Corbyn and only entered the shadow cabinet once Starmer had replaced Corbyn.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As health secretary he has reversed the tide on ballooning hospital appointment waiting lists, but has had a fractious relationship with some sectors, including striking junior doctors. \u201cHe\u2019s had the opportunity to be a big public service reformer and he hasn\u2019t really done it,\u201d an ex-senior Labour adviser said.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" LONDON(National Times)- Wes Streeting, Britain\u2019s health secretary until he quit his post earlier this week, has become the first MP to confirm publicly he will bid to replace Prime Minister Keir Starmer as leader of the ruling Labour party. Widely credited as one of the party\u2019s best communicators, the ebullient 43-year-old hails from a working […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":126071,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-126070","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-international","entry"],"yoast_head":"\n