To think Wes Streeting would make a good PM?

Agreed. Andy has done an excellent job in Greater Manchester.

Johnson won a landslide for saying "oven ready". This was after he hid in a fridge.

As recent UK prime ministers include Johnson and Truss, and as the likes of Badenoch and Farage head up two parliamentary parties, I think people - or at least a good portion of them - don't actually want leadership at all. They want to be distracted and entertained by people who anyone ought to see are simply incompetent.

Andy Burnham

I don't know but I don't think it's fair to blame the union. I do think trade unions have, in many cases, pushed for more women in leadership—especially in the Labour movement. They're far from perfect (the GMB reports don't make for edifying reading). But at the same time, both Unison and Unite currently have female General Secretaries. And historically, unions gave some women leadership platforms—people like Audrey Wise in USDAW and Joan Maynard.

I completely agree

Given his decisions on NHS reorganisation appear to have been made with no thought as to how they can actually be executed and instead were a reflex action with no thoughts as to the consequences, it's a no from me.

Your last sentence answers your question!

I've been a Labour member all my adult life and over the years I've witnessed a culture of men doing the important stuff and women doing the support roles (and making the tea). It's not as bad as it was of course but culture change can take decades.

I quite like him. He was in the wrong place on assisted dying but other than that, I’d probably vote for him. Not sure he’d do any better at controlling the shit show that is the parliamentary Labour Party at the moment though.

Why is Labour the only major party not to have had a female leader? At this point, it's embarrassing. Every time women are put forward as candidates for leadership they get knocked out. Why? They have large numbers of female MPs. The Left have alwsys had a problem with women but they like to tell people how much they love equality.

I agree with Streeting on most issues. He’s basically a Blairite, which is also pretty much where I am politically. His background (council flat & bog standard comp to Cambridge) is similar to my own, although I was at a non-Oxbridge RG university. He’s also a brilliant media performer, unlike Starmer.

The problem is that he is a 42 year old career politician who started out in student politics, has never done anything else and has never actually run anything or built anything or achieved anything outside politics. At least Starmer ran the CPS and Sunak was a successful financier.

And this.

As you said in your OP, he talks a lot. Don't see what he's achieved though.
The NHS is in the worst state it's ever been, in spite of the lies we're being told.

He comes to mind as he does interviews. John Healey. Defence. has far more experience.

The fella who announced slashing a key maternity budget from £95 million to just £2 million (ffs why have it at all??) on the basis that the same money would be given to NHS trusts and they could spend it where they wanted, just before announcing more cuts to the NHS that are resulting in huge job losses? Who’s quite happy to watch wards still relying on work from student nurses who have to pay for that, pay to work, only to be told there’s no jobs for them? Yeah he’s going to be good for women.

Someone like him who’s never out of the news is clearly a shameless self publicist who needs to get some of the actual work done and drive some of the real change we need on the shop floor. A Ben Wallace can actually fight for his service - the likes of Streeting knows f all and cares less. He’s another career politician.

It seems odd to lay this issue at the door of 'the Unions', when the two largest affiliates by far have female General Secretary's.

Convenient if you want to blame them for all of the parties ills though

Yeah, a 27 year career in human rights defence. What a low calibre loser.

I agree with this. I think he has something about him in a way that Starmer does not. I am a Labour voter and voted for them in the last election, but agree that Wes Streeting has the potential to win over many more voters.

Actually I’d say the same about Andy Burnham, who I also feel has more passion and authenticity than many of the current Labour frontbench.

The unions would rather vote for Boris Johnson that elect a female leader of the Labour Party ( unless they were of the trans variety)

I like that he listened to the concerns of women and changed his thinking on gender and trans. That shows a degree of intelligence and humility lacking in most politicians.

I like him too, but think he should stay in charge of Health as he seems to know his brief and be committed to it. One of the many problems with the last Tory government was that they chopped and changed ministers so often that no one knew what they were doing.
He also needs to be moved to a better constituency. In Ilford he is always at risk of being unseated by a pro Palestine independent. He won by the skin of his teeth last time.

They need to grow the economy - and start that now! They still don't have a clue.

Well no, of course not. He had an idea (albeit the silly one that some men are women), which lots of politicians either believe or pretend to because it's trendy. He realised it was incorrect and repositioned himself.

It's better than Starmer's embarrassing fence sitting on the issue, or doubling down like many others have. Again, it's a low bar, but he's passed it where lots have failed!

"They are low calibre people who have no real life experience of doing anything meaningful."

Hmm unlike the Charlies who were in from 2010 to 2024 hey @Jennps ?

This is unfair. She stepped up when all those idiot men belatedly realised that their Oxbridge game playing willy waving had actual real life consequences.

No need for rudeness on a discussion forum
says more about you etc