Wes Streeting pledged on Saturday to make rejoining the European Union a key objective if he becomes prime minister, as he mounted a withering attack on Keir Starmer’s leadership.
The former health secretary, who quit the cabinet last week, said Brexit had been a “catastrophic mistake” and should be reversed. “The biggest economic opportunity we have is on our doorstep,” he said. “We need a new special relationship with the EU, because Britain’s future lies with Europe – and, one day, back in the European Union.”
Drawing a parallel between the risks posed by Vladimir Putin and Donald Trump, he argued that 10 years on from the decision to leave the EU it was crucial to strengthen alliances across Europe. “In a dangerous world, we must club together, both to rebuild our economy and trade, and improve our defence against the shared threats from Russian aggression and ‘America first’.”
Streeting did not set a timetable for rejoining the EU, but his stance is in stark contrast to Starmer’s promise that the UK would not reverse Brexit in his lifetime. It poses a dilemma for Andy Burnham, whose ambition to become Labour leader depends on winning over Reform voters in the Makerfield byelection, which was triggered by Labour MP Josh Simons stepping aside to pave the way for the Greater Manchester mayor’s candidacy.
Burnham has previously said he would like to rejoin the EU in his lifetime, but he is being urged to temper his language to avoid alienating Brexit supporters before the critical byelection vote on 18 June.
A recent Survation poll of Labour members – who will decide the next leader – found that 87% supported rejoining the EU. Former Labour leader Neil Kinnock has joined business leaders in calling for Britain to go back in for the sake of the economy and security.
Streeting’s comments in a speech at a conference in London run by the centre-left thinktank Progress are a sign that he intends to use his newfound freedom on the backbenches to appeal to mainstream Labour members at a time when Burnham is constrained by the short-term politics of fighting the Makerfield seat. Streeting confirmed that he would be a candidate in the Labour leadership contest.
A supporter of the prime minister said: “Making the next election a de facto second referendum on the EU does nothing but re-entrench a national divide and subject us all to a totally miserable debate, all while handing the election to Nigel Farage.”
In his resignation letter last Thursday, Streeting attacked the “vacuum” and “drift” at the heart of Starmer’s government. On Saturday, he went further, warning that if Labour did not change course, it would lose the next general election. “We risk being the handmaidens of Nigel Farage and the breakup of the United Kingdom,” he said.
He criticised the lack of a plan for power after 14 years in opposition. “We arrived in government underprepared in too many areas and lacking clarity of vision and direction,” he said. “Questions which had gone unanswered in opposition couldn’t be ignored in office, leading to the early catastrophe of the winter fuel cut.”
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He added: “We’ve carried this culture into government, with a heavy-handed approach that has seen backbenchers scolded for interesting private members’ bills which weren’t the government’s policy – like banning smartphones in schools.”
The former health secretary accused Starmer of pandering to rightwing voters rather than defending progressive values. On the day that the far-right leader Tommy Robinson and his followers were marching through London, Streeting revealed that after the last such event “ministers were sent out by No 10 with a media script to explain the march rather than condemn it”.
He said: “What we’ve experienced in our country in recent months is a type of racism we haven’t seen on our streets since the 1970s and 1980s. Our country’s flags flown from lampposts and flyovers – not as a symbol of national pride, but as a symbol of division.”
In sharp contrast to the prime minister’s suggestion that the UK was in danger of becoming an “island of strangers”, Streeting embraced Britain’s diversity. “There are no second-class citizens in this country,” he said. “Black, white, rich, poor, gay, straight, religious, atheist, man, woman: that flag belongs to all of us, not just some of us.”
He said it was appalling that Islamophobia and antisemitism had flourished. “We’ve seen mosques set on fire and vandalised, Muslim women harassed because of what they wear… We’ve also seen Jews murdered and attacked in their shuls and on our streets, kids in my constituency trying to hide their school uniforms and Stars of David because they fear being abused or attacked just for being Jewish. ‘Globalise the intifada’ in deeds, not just words.”
Although he called for Labour to unite progressives to defeat Reform, he slammed Zack Polanski, leader of the Greens, for choosing to “look the other way” on antisemitism. The Green party “is now riddled with that which we expelled”, Streeting said.
As a minister he made clear his support for a ban on social media for under-16s, and condemned Starmer’s failure to take on the tech companies.
“We treat the destruction of shared truth, the atomisation of audiences, the algorithmic amplification of the worst of us, as if it were a force of nature,” he said. “It isn’t. We have chosen to hand the pen to tech moguls in Silicon Valley to write our future for us. It’s time to take the pen back.”
Photograph by PA/Alamy