Wes Streeting revealed his biggest flaw, which he “deserved a good slap for”, as speculation mounts over the Health Secretary’s bid to replace the Prime Minister. Mr Streeting has had the spotlight shone on him over the past 24 hours as he was named in briefings from No 10 sources on Tuesday night that alleged he had leadership ambitions. In response, the Labour minister has insisted that he is not trying to oust Sir Keir Starmer or demand his resignation.
In a resurfaced interview from June 2023 with The Guardian, Mr Streeting revealed his ambitions of becoming the Prime Minister, as well as his biggest flaw. Speaking with the paper, he said: “Don’t expect your politicians to be perfect because they are just as flawed as everyone.” Speaking on his own traits, he said: “I can be arrogant. I’ve got more humility now than I had in my 30s and 20s. And in my teens I was a nightmare. Supremely arrogant.
“Thank God teachers weren’t allowed to hit us. There were times I deserved a good slap for being so cocky.”
Elsewhere in the article, the Health Secretary was questioned on his ambitions within the Labour party, where he said he has “never been ashamed of aiming high and going as far as my talents will take me”.
The minister added: “I’m in politics to get things done. I want to change things for the better, and where better to do that than being head of the cabinet? Prime ministers have huge power, so why would you not want to do that job?”
Pushed further on his potential bid to be the leader, he explained how he would achieve this. “If I was ruthlessly focused on the pursuit of the top job, I’d tack left,” he said. “You win the Labour leadership from the left, as I reminded Tony Blair from time to time.”
On Wednesday morning, in light of the overnight briefings positioning Mr Streeting as a potential threat to replace Sir Keir, the Health Secretary said it was a “totally self-defeating briefing, not least because it’s not true”.
Speaking on Sky News, he was questioned if he would launch a leadership challenge after the budget on 26 November, to which he replied: “No”.
However, just two years ago, he told the Guardian: “If I got a chance to be a Keir Starmer or Tony Blair or Gordon Brown or Wilson or Attlee, I would die happy.”