Wes Streeting’s 5 key Labour leadership pledges

Wes Streeting sent shockwaves through the government when he resigned as health secretary on 14 May, just a week after Labour lost nearly 1,500 seats in the local elections.

In his resignation letter, Streeting said he had lost confidence in the prime minister and stated that it was clear Sir Keir Starmer would not lead the country into the next general election. He also alluded to a “debate about what comes next”, but did not formally say he would launch a leadership challenge.

But just two days later, at a Progress conference on 16 May, the Ilford North MP confirmed that he would trigger a leadership contest and run against Andy Burnham.

So what is Streeting’s vision for the party, and what policies has he pledged as part of his campaign? Here’s a recap of what Streeting has said so far. 

1. Rejoin the EU

Streeting launched his pitch to become prime minister with a bid for Britain to rejoin the EU. While Starmer has spoken about the EU in terms of strengthening ties, and Andy Burnham has said he would not reopen the conversation on rejoining the EU yet, Streeting has made clear that Brexit was “catastrophic” and that he would want to rejoin the bloc.

2. Wealth tax

The ex-health secretary, who is on the right of the Labour Party, has backed some progressive tax measures. He has proposed a “wealth tax that works”, by equalising capital gains tax (CGT) with income tax.

3. Cut NI

Streeting has suggested cutting employers’ National Insurance (NI) to incentivise businesses to hire more young people. He has said a targeted cut to NI could reduce the number of young people not in education, employment or training, known as NEETS.

4. North Sea drilling

Another area where Streeting has broken with Starmer’s government is over new licences for North Sea oil and gas fields. Environmentalists and scientists argue that the North Sea is a mature basin with relatively limited reserves left to extract, but Streeting maintains that, although further drilling would not lower energy bills, it would provide a boost to tax revenues.

5. Care worker visas

Streeting has said that from conversations he had with care workers while he was the health secretary, many feel undervalued and uncertain about their future in the UK. Streeting also cited the issue of exploitation within the sector, whereby “unscrupulous employers” use visas as the “whip hand” and say that if they complain about poverty pay or bullying, they will revoke the care worker’s visa. 

The Labour MP said he would create a visa sponsorship body so that visas are issued nationally and not by individual employers, and that he would be “more generous to care workers in terms of their right to stay in this country”. 

His comments come after the government put a stop to new social care visas being issued to applicants overseas in July last year.

Olivia Barber is a reporter at Left Foot Forward