Wes Streeting resignation speech snubbed by MPs โ ‘he revels in ignorance’ | Politics | News
Wes Streeting makes his resignation speech in the House of Commons (Image: UK Parliament)
Wes Streeting was derided as someone who “revels in ignorance” after MPs snubbed his resignation speech in the House of Commons. Cabinet ministers have the right to make a statement, heard in complete silence, in the Chamber when they quit.
The speeches are normally well-attended, with Geoffrey Howe’s resignation statement โ which famously kick-started the downfall of Margaret Thatcher in 1990 โ heard by a packed Chamber. But the Commons was half-empty for Mr Streeting’s speech, which was met with scorn by his critics after he railed against “nationalism” and said more should be done to help young people.
Welsh MP Liz Saville Roberts tore into the former health secretary on social media, saying: “Wes Streeting today revels in ignorance by comparing Plaid Cymruโs inclusive internationalism with Reform UKโs divisive populism.”
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Mr Streeting sensationally quit the front bench after slamming Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership following terrible local election results. In a damning letter, he told the Prime Minister: “Where we need vision, we have a vacuum.”
Flanked by Jess Phillips, who has also resigned as a minister, and Rosie Wrighting, his former parliamentary private secretary, Mr Streeting panned the Government for failing to protect the young, improve public services, and address rising division across the UK.
He called for โdecent jobs, strong public services, safe communities, a place we can call homeโ.
He also spoke up for asylum seekers, saying: “The nurse from Nigeria is not the enemy of the factory worker in Newcastle. The family fleeing war is not responsible for the cost-of-living crisis.”
The Ilford North MP has announced he intends to stand for the Labour Party leadership, urging the party to change direction.
The Commons was half-empty for Wes Streeting’s speech (Image: UK Parliament)
Over the weekend, he even called for the UK to rejoin the European Union. Speaking to MPs on Wednesday, he said: “For too long and too often, patriotism in Britain has been left to the loudest voices and the narrowest arguments, as though love of country belongs to one tribe, one party or one point of view.
“But the Britain I believe in is bigger than that, because patriotism is not about who you exclude, it is about who you stand beside.”
He added: “It is not rooted in fear of change or suspicion of difference. It is rooted in solidarity, in the belief that we rise or fall together.
“That is the best of our countryโs story โ a Britain where people from different backgrounds, different faiths, different nations and regions still see themselves in one another, a country where the son of Indian pharmacists can become our first Hindu prime minister without having his Englishness questioned.”
Mr Streeting could face Andy Burnham in a future leadership contest if the Greater Manchester Mayor wins the Makerfield by-election and gets back into Parliament.
