Wes Streeting Says Labour Leadership Race Must Avoid Costly Pledges

Wes Streeting told an audience in central London that a Labour leadership contest must not become a race of who can offer the most expensive and popular pledges to the party faithful at the expense of the British people. The former health secretary said he would not use a leadership campaign to make costly promises that he would have to later reverse.

Streeting told the BBC he had the backing of the 81 Labour MPs he would need in order to launch a leadership challenge.

He later added that for the avoidance of doubt there would be a contest. Streeting resigned from government last month, accusing the prime minister of drift and a lack of vision. In an hour-long speech, he set out his own vision for the economy, citing former chancellors Gordon Brown and Nigel Lawson.

He said he could win the top job by convincing Labour members that he could win a general election and unite the centre with the left. If he became prime minister, he said he would rule out an early election and govern for the remainder of the parliamentary term.

Streeting said he wanted to see tax on employment come down when the public finances allow and repeated his call for capital gains tax to be equalised with income tax rates.

He said the triple lock on pensions was here to stay for the entirety of this Parliament. Streeting suggested Energy Secretary Ed Miliband should approve North Sea oil and gas drilling projects in Rosebank and Jackdaw. He said there is a pragmatic case for producing our own gas rather than importing from abroad.

Streeting said he hoped that, following the Makerfield by-election on Thursday, the prime minister would reflect on his own position and set out a timetable for his departure. Speaking to reporters at the G7 summit in France, Sir Keir Starmer told supporters he intends not to walk away but to carry on with what he was elected to do.