Streeting resigns and criticises government's 'drift'

Wes Streeting resigns as health secretary3 days agoShareSaveAdd as preferred on GoogleJoshua NevettPolitical reporterPA MediaWes Streeting has resigned as health secretary saying he has lost confidence in Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer's leadership, deepening the political crisis engulfing the Labour government.In his resignation letter, Streeting said it was clear Sir Keir would not lead Labour into the next general election, criticising his government's "drift" and lack of "vision".Streeting said Labour MPs and unions would want a "debate about what comes next" but did not say he was formally launching a challenge to Sir Keir's leadership.It comes after days of intense speculation that Streeting was planning a bid to replace Sir Keir as Labour leader, with allies saying he would do so as soon as Thursday.Streeting met the prime minister in 10 Downing Street for less than 20 minutes on Wednesday morning, after dozens of Labour MPs urged Sir Keir to stand down.Highlighting his record as health secretary, including a reduction in NHS waiting times, Streeting said there were "good reasons for me to remain in post".But he added: "As you know from our conversation earlier this week, having lost confidence in your leadership, I have concluded that it would be dishonourable and unprincipled to do so."Blaming the "unpopularity of this government" for Labour's dire results in last week's elections, Streeting said Labour needed a vision but instead "we have a vacuum"."Leaders take responsibility, but too often that has meant other people falling on their swords," Streeting said.He said the country faced big challenges "that require a bold vision and bigger solutions than we are offering"."It is now clear that you will not lead the Labour Party into the next general election and that Labour MPs and Labour unions want the debate about what comes next to be a...