It’s confirmed: Wes Streeting will run for Labour leader

It’s confirmed: Wes Streeting plans to run for the Labour leadership. After weeks of speculation, speaking at the Progress conference in central London today, Streeting confirmed he would run in any future leadership contest, and said there should be a “battle of ideas” within the Labour party. As the first one out of the blocks to confirm his position, he now has months in which to set out his stall.

This has been a major week for Streeting. On Thursday, he resigned from his post as Health Secretary, calling on Keir Starmer to set out a timetable for an orderly transition. Speculation mounted that Streeting himself might begin a contest, should he have the backing of 81 MPs. But no challenge came. Instead, the former health secretary called for a proper leadership race in which a variety of candidates should be allowed to stand. He backed Andy Burnham – now his key rival to replace Starmer – to be allowed to run for selection as the Labour candidate in the upcoming Makerfield by-election. In his speech today, Streeting explained his reasoning, telling attendees there should be “a proper contest where all candidates can put their best foot forward.”

Progress are Streeting’s people. The think tank, which was founded thirty years ago, is home to the right-wing of the party, in which many of Streeting’s allies can be found. But not all of them are happy with recent events. Several attendees, some of them former councillors who had lost their seats in last week’s local elections, sounded furious with the government for dissolving into leadership squabbles in the wake of a major loss.

Addressing the conference earlier in the day, Peter Kyle – the Business and Trade Secretary – who is a close friend of Streeting, urged caution. He described Streeting as “legendary” though stopped short of confirming he would back him in any leadership race. “Too often in the past,” Kyle said, “the Labour party has chosen a moment of difficulty to talk among ourselves”. Speaking to me at the conference, a Labour source said after the events of this week the right of the party is “tearing itself apart”.

But Streeting was not deterred. He used the speech as an opportunity to distance himself from the government he has just left, with a scathing assessment of Starmer’s leadership, including the party’s time in opposition. He described the last Labour leadership contest – in which Starmer was elected – as “dishonest”, followed by “overcautiousness in opposition”. Streeting added: “Interesting policy ideas couldn’t be floated because we were too afraid of what the Tories might say, so we said nothing.” He was critical of the use of whip-suspensions to punish Labour rebels and described the cut to the winter fuel payment as a “catastrophe”. Streeting clearly hoped to position himself away from Starmer’s administration with these comments, and perhaps even to appeal to his critics on the party’s left.

The rest of Streeting’s speech was a clear leadership pitch. Labour under Streeting would rejoin the European Union, would take on English nationalism on the right and anti-Semitism on the left, and would firmly occupy the centre ground. Most significantly, he said the party, under his leadership, would form a new “special relationship” with Europe and would use its next manifesto to seek a new mandate to rejoin the EU.

He warned those within the Labour party who have claimed that, in order to do well in the next general election, the party needs to turn to the right or to the left. “My warning to the party, is don’t get dragged off by the siren voices who say to win the genera election that we need to try and out Reform Reform or out Green the Greens,” he said. “We will win the next general election by being Labour”.

Streeting’s allies were out in force. He was introduced by Rosie Wrighting, the MP for Kettering, who said: “I believe in Wes, who more than anyone else, is the person to make me feel hope for our future,” And in the wake of his speech, Streeting’s supporters were buzzing. Speaking to me shortly afterwards, one Labour MP said: “Could you imagine a world in which the Prime Minister gave that speech? There was nothing stopping him from giving a speech like that on Monday.” They said that after his performance today, they were certain Streeting would have the numbers.

There is a long way to go yet. Burnham, who was given permission by Labour’s ruling National Executive Committee yesterday to run for selection as the Labour candidate in Makerfield, now must fight, and win a by-election on 18 June in order to enter this race. Streeting magnanimously said he would campaign for Burnham, adding: “I honestly think that if anyone can win that by-election it’s Andy Burnham… I’ll be proud to campaign for Andy Burnham.” But this ushers in a bizarre set of circumstances, in which Streeting will be supporting the return to parliament of his leading rival, who as things stand, looks more likely to gain the support of the membership in a leadership contest.

If anything, Streeting’s biggest gain today is that he has ended the speculation. We know now: he’s running. Instead, he can use the next few months – as Starmer clings on to his premiership, and Burnham fights to win Makerfield against a newly galvanised Reform – to set out a vision for Labour under Wes Streeting.

[Further reading: Can Andy Burnham win in Makerfield?]