Wes Streeting, the Health Secretary, has refused to rule out future ambitions to become Labour leader and prime minister, following a briefing war within the party.
Earlier this week, allies of Sir Keir Starmer told journalists that the Prime Minister would fight off any leadership challenge, and singled out Streeting as the most likely challenger. The move backfired, prompting Streeting to complain of a “toxic” and “juvenile” culture in Downing Street.
Sir Keir apologised to his Cabinet colleague when the two men spoke on Wednesday, later saying he had been “assured” the briefings did not come from anyone inside his No 10 team.
During a phone-in with LBC’s Nick Ferrari on Friday morning, Streeting was asked whether the public could still trust Sir Keir and his chief of staff, Morgan McSweeney. He said: “Yes, I think you can. I did wake up yesterday morning feeling like I’d been in some sort of fever dream reflecting on this week’s events. It was quite bizarre.”
On his conversation with Sir Keir, Streeting said: “I’m not telling you anything. It’s as nice as usual. I think, to be honest, the Prime Minister and I are both in the same boat here at being completely frustrated. Because this is a total distraction.”
When pressed on whether he “one day” hoped to become prime minister, Streeting said: “I’m very happy doing the job that I’m doing, to be honest.” However, he did not rule out such ambitions in the future.
Streeting also declared that the BBC had “lost its way” in the wake of a Telegraph investigation that exposed bias at the corporation. In a warning shot to Sir Keir and Rachel Reeves, the Chancellor, Streeting said the government must not break its manifesto promise not to raise income tax, VAT or National Insurance amid speculation over the upcoming Budget.