Wes Streeting confirms he won’t run for Labour leader as he backs Andy Burnham
Wes Streeting and Andy Burnham (Getty Images)
Former Health Secretary Wes Streeting has announced he will not run in the upcoming Labour leadership vote, instead throwing his support to Andy Burnham.
On Monday morning (22 June), Prime Minister Keir Starmer announced his resignation as leader of the Labour party. He will remain as the prime minister until a replacement is found in the coming months.
Streeting, who resigned as Health Secretary in May, was among the names expected to run for the Labour leadership, alongside LGBTQ+ ally Andy Burnham. However he has now confirmed his intention to support Burnham in an “inclusive” party.
Streeting published a statement on his official X account, which said Starmer “has made the right decision to stand down as the Leader of the Labour Party that he saved”.
He went on to praise Burnham for his victory in the Makerfield by-election, which he said “has proven that Labour can still win if we have the courage to change”. “It was a victory for unity and hope over division and hatred,” he added.
Streeting continued: “Andy has shown what Labour can be when we are inclusive, united, and in touch with the lives of the people this Party was founded to represent.”
He said that he quit his Government position as the party was “losing the fight to nationalists in every corner of the country”. Since then, he has been speaking to former councillors, activists and local voters in constituencies which Labour lost in the May 7 elections.
‘I hope that everyone else will back Andy, too’
“I’ve also been setting out ideas to change our country: a plan for Britain to grow again and grow together, with a progressive capitalism focused on wealth creation as much as wealth distribution; to lead the world in the Fourth Industrial Revolution and protect people from its risks; to modernise our public services; to give Britain energy security; to build stronger alliances with democracies around the world and a new Special Relationship with Europe; and to change the culture of our Party so that it is more inclusive and open to ideas,” he wrote.
Streeting went on to say that he is “convinced that there is a place for those ideas” under the leadership of Burnham, adding: “He is committed to building an inclusive party that draws on the best of our political traditions; and that he can win the fight of our lives against the forces of nationalism.”
He finished the letter by signing off: “We could spend the summer exaggerating small differences, or we can roll up our sleeves and help him to deliver the change our Party and our country needs. That is the choice that I am making and I hope that everyone else will back Andy, too.
“We were elected to change our country, to show that politics can be a force for good, and to spread opportunity for everyone. With Andy, we still can.”
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