Labour must be bolder or it will lose, Streeting says in resignation speech

Wes Streeting delivered his first Commons speech after resigning as health secretary, saying he left because the government was losing the fight against populist nationalism. He reiterated that leaving the EU was a damaging mistake and said young people had been let down by a system stacked against them. He praised Keir Starmer for keeping the UK out of the US-Israel war against Iran, while criticizing the government’s wider approach as too cautious. He argued that Reform UK and other nationalists hijacked patriotism and said Labour must take the battle properly to nationalists. He warned that without a change of course, Reform could gain power, and described Scottish and Welsh nationalism as an existential threat to the UK’s integrity.

"Never waste a minute that's been my mantra in government, and it's why I don't believe our party has time to waste in government treading water, he told MPs. The Labour party was elected to deliver real change. We still can. In a long section taking aim not just at Reform but also at the SNP in Scotland and Plaid Cymru in Wales, Streeting said Starmer's government had failed to take the battle properly to nationalists."

"I left the government because we are in the fight of our lives against nationalism, and it is a fight that we are currently losing, he said. Unless we change course, we risk handing the keys of No 10 to Reform, and I do not want that on our consciences. For the first time in our history, nationalists are in power in every corner of the United Kingdom."

"Scottish and Welsh nationalism represents an existential threat to the future integrity of the United Kingdom, and Reform UK represent a threat to the values and ideals that have made this country great. He went on: For too long and for too o"

"Streeting reiterated his view that leaving the EU had been a damaging mistake for the UK, and argued that young people had been let down by a system stacked against them. Streeting resigned last week and called on Keir Starmer to quit as prime minister. It had been expected he would launch a formal leadership challenge, but he seemingly failed to get the necessary support from 80-plus Labour MPs."

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