Wes Streeting today flatly ruled out a Labour leadership ‘dream ticket’ with Angela Rayner as he tried to quell claims he is on manoeuvres.
The Health Secretary answered ‘yes’ when he was directly asked whether he could guarantee he will not join forces with the former Deputy PM to challenge Keir Starmer.
He also insisted his ‘maintenance man’ jibe about the government’s lacklustre performance had not been aimed at Sir Keir.
The denials came as Mr Streeting took part on a phone-in on LBC, amid fevered speculation about the premier’s future.
The Cabinet minister’s allies are rumoured to be wooing Ms Rayner’s endorsement for a future leadership contest.
However, she is said to harbour her own ambitions and has apparently made clear she would rather ‘stick pins in her eyes’ than back him.
The sense of crisis gathering around Sir Keir was further fuelled yesterday by Mr Streeting’s interview with the New Statesman.
He voiced ‘frustration’ with Downing Street’s failure to sell Labour’s achievements, suggesting notoriously dour Sir Keir was presenting his administration as a ‘maintenance department for the country’.
Mr Streeting also warned of the dangers of trying to ‘out-Reform Reform’ and stressed the need to lower the tax burden.
Local elections in May are increasingly seen as a critical moment that could decide whether Sir Keir can hang on.
Asked about his comments on LBC this morning, the Health Secretary said: ‘No, it’s not criticism of the Prime Minister.
‘I think it is a challenge to all of us, because all of us in Government and in the Cabinet in particular, have a responsibility to get the Government’s message across, and sometimes, I think what we’re guilty of is coming on and listing a whole load of stuff we’ve done.
‘Now that’s a good thing, because we’ve done loads of stuff since the elections to deliver our manifesto.
Do you think Labour would be stronger if Wes Streeting and Angela Rayner teamed up to challenge Keir Starmer, or would it just create more division?
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‘The problem with a big, long shopping list is you can’t always remember what’s on it, and people walk away thinking, ‘I kind of heard some stuff they’re doing, but can’t quite remember what it’s about’.
‘We’ve got to be much better at putting an account of what this Government is about and who it is for.’
Towards the end of the phone-in a caller asked Mr Streeting directly if he could ‘categorically rule out’ a leadership challenge on a joint ticket with Ms Rayner.
‘Yes. Yes, is the short answer,’ he said.
