It was designed to both condemn what he said was 14 years of Conservative failure and also force the health service to acknowledge its own diagnosis and need for reform.
One NHS insider told The i Paper: “That didn’t land very well. It felt unfair and landed poorly with staff.
British Medical Association junior doctors on strike in February. One of Streeting’s challenges will be to prevent further strikes (Photo: Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu via Getty)
By the time of Labour’s conference in September, however, NHS insiders noticed Streeting’s mantra had changed slightly to a more motivational slogan of “The NHS is broken but not beaten”.
But Streeting faces many more battles in 2025 with one of the most difficult jobs in the Cabinet besides the Prime Minister.
And yet as Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves face growing public anger over controversial economic decisions including the winter fuel cut, lifting the exemption for inheritance tax on farmland, and the refusal to fund compensation for Waspi women, Streeting has now emerged as the bookies’ favourite to be the next Labour leader – whenever there is eventually a vacancy.
Westminster insiders do note, however, how Reeves’ political share price has taken a hit since her Budget in October unveiled tax rises for employers, changes to inheritance tax rules for farmers and a refusal to budge over her winter fuel payment cut for 10m pensioners.
But as the man in charge of the most challenging of all the public services, Streeting may find his own political future is damaged if Labour cannot improve the NHS by the next election – including widening access to GP appointments, cutting the amount of time it takes to receive routine treatment, and reducing waits at A&E, all things the government has pledged to tackle.
“Labour’s numbers have tanked since a brief honeymoon in July, and Streeting is not immune: in Savanta’s polling, Streeting had a neutral favourability rating in the immediate aftermath of Labour’s landslide victory, but stands at -8 now.
Rachel Reeves and Wes Streeting visiting St. George’s Hospital in October (Photo: Leon Neal/Getty)“Whether that puts him in pole position to be the next Labour leader remains to be seen but given the fractious state of UK politics at the moment, it would be no surprise to see the next Labour leader operating from the opposition benches rather than the government ones.”
He ruffled Cabinet feathers when he led opposition to the assisted dying bill, particularly when the issue falls under his brief as Health Secretary.
The Health Secretary insisted this was not direct criticism of Miliband.
He called the junior doctors – now called resident doctors – union the British Medical Association on his first day in the job to open up talks, which weeks later brought an end to that long-running strike – although fresh action is not off the agenda completely.
While the Budget cost Reeves political capital, it delivered £25bn extra for the NHS, one of the best settlements for years.
Activists protest outside Wes Streeting’s constituency office after Streeting announced he would indefinitely ban puberty blocking drugs for people under age 18 (Photo: Guy Smallman/Getty)
His decision to declare the NHS as “broken but not beaten” is where he believes most health service staff are and is “totally undeterred” by complaints from “producer interests”, an ally said, and is firmly on the side of the patient rather than the provider.
An NHS insider said managers were willing and ready to have a more constructive relationship with the Labour government than they had with the Conservatives.
“There has been generally positive, sensible, constructive engagement and a recognition that the NHS has had a really rough 14 years. The difference is really significant.”
The Health Secretary is understood to be “obsessed with delivery” including on improving the nation’s public health, which he sees as key to preventing the NHS being “bankrupted”.
This issue continues to put a huge burden on hospitals – some have as many as a fifth of their beds in general wards taken up by patients who could be discharged were it not for any suitable space in care homes or support at home.
Allies say that the Health Secretary’s agenda for reform does include tackling this huge challenge, however.
But if Labour – and Streeting – can turn around the NHS before the next election, then the Health Secretary would be able to capitalise on that when the party’s succession comes into view, say experts.
“If the NHS is markedly improved in the medium term, and Streeting can manoeuvre so that he is the face of that, then that will stand him in very good stead with the public.”
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