Civil war erupted on Wednesday Health Secretary Wes Streeting lashed out at the ‘toxic culture’ in No10 and one MP compared aides to characters from the Thick of It
Keir Starmer has condemned “unacceptable” attacks against Wes Streeting after a botched bid by No10 to see off threats to the PM’s leadership.
Allies of the Prime Minister mounted a pre-emptive strike against a potential post-Budget coup, warning that Mr Starmer would face down any attempt to oust him. But the operation, which appeared to particularly target the Health Secretary, spectacularly backfired.
Civil war erupted on Wednesday as Mr Streeting lashed out at the “toxic culture” in No10 and one MP compared aides to characters from the Thick of It. Mr Starmer was forced to publicly disown the attacks in the Commons on Wednesday, throwing his weight behind his Health Secretary who he said was doing “a great job”.
“Any attack on any member of my Cabinet is completely unacceptable,” he said, and said he had never authorised briefings against members of his top team. At a briefing afterwards, the PM’s political spokeswoman said: “As he set out previously, any unauthorised briefing against Cabinet Ministers would be dealt with.”
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The spokeswoman said the PM had full confidence in his chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, who some MPs sought to blame for the briefing.
Mr Streeting furiously denied claims he was plotting to overthrow the PM in a pre-planned broadcast round ahead of a major speech on the NHS. He said the “self-defeating” rumours were being spread by those “watching too much Celebrity Traitors”.
“This is just about the worst attack on a faithful I’ve seen since Joe Marler was kicked out and banished in the final,” he said. “It’s a totally self-defeating briefing, not least because it’s not true and I don’t understand how anyone thinks it’s helpful to the Prime Minister either.”
He blamed a “toxic culture” in Downing Street and said those responsible for the briefings should be sacked. Mr Streeting said: “I do think that going out and calling your Labour MPs feral is not very helpful.
“I do think that trying to kneecap one of your own team when they are out, not just making the case for the Government, but actually delivering the change that we promised, I think that is also self-defeating and self-destructive behaviour.”
The row comes amid unease among MPs as Mr Starmer struggles to turn around Labour’s poll ratings in the face of a surge from Nigel Farage’s Reform UK. It also comes just two weeks before Rachel Reeves delivers a make-or-break Budget, which is expected to include manifesto-busting tax hikes.
Labour MPs expressed their fury on Wednesday at the decision to put rocket boosters under Westminster gossip about Mr Starmer’s future. A Labour MP told the Mirror: “Honestly the PM employs children. The operation is doing a really good job of preparing MPs for a hideous Budget, with plenty of briefings and meetings – and then they blow it up by having a totally unnecessary go at Wes?”
The MP added: “None of this is good when we promised calm, stability, the grown ups being back in charge. How can he be so sure footed internationally and so inept with his own MPs?” Another MP said: “They think they are all from the West Wing but they are actually from the Thick of It.”
Jo White, chair of the Labour MP Red Wall group, said: “Our enemies love nothing more than when we start fighting like dogs in public, and my message to those MPs who are running around with their tails held high [is] that this is neither the time nor the place. This is a group of people who think they’re much cleverer than the rest of us, who spend their time selectively briefing journalists and stirring the pot. I want to simply say: We’re not having it.”
She added: “I’d like to say to No10, I think they’re barking up the wrong tree, briefing against Wes.” But one minister shrugged off the briefings to the Mirror, telling the party: “Get back to work.”