Page 4 | AIBU to predict Streeting will resign tomorrow & trigger leadership contest.

Twiglets1 · 2026-05-13T10:36:36+00:00

Wes Streeting will reportedly resign as Health Secretary and trigger a leadership contest against Keir Starmer and it could be as soon as tomorrow. Allies of Mr Streeting said he was “going to go for it” after he met the Prime Minister in Downing Street for just 16 minutes this morning. A spokesman for the Health Secretary said he would not discuss his brief meeting with Sir Keir over fears it would overshadow the King’s Speech, which will take place later today at 11.40. AIBU to assume that Streeting is in the final stages of preparing a coup for the Labour leadership and will very likely make his move tomorrow?

MyAutumnCrow · 13/05/2026 20:17

I don’t think you’re wrong, @Twiglets1 - I think Streeting would a nightmare for the UK though, not least women’s rights and children’s safeguarding, the NHS, and industrial relations.

MiaKulper · 13/05/2026 20:13

Seriously despair of this personality and charisma crap.
Me too.

Do we not learn from the BJ days and Brexit vote etc
Obviously not.

Redrosesposies · 13/05/2026 20:06

I predict that we are going to end up with that smug snake, Millipede as PM.

Triflingjelly · 13/05/2026 20:03

Yvette Cooper would be fantastic as a leader.

HRTQueen · 13/05/2026 19:41

Twiglets1 · 13/05/2026 16:12

Ooh tough talking! They may well have considered fucking off to the Greens before all this antisemitic stuff came up. Not something many serious politicians would want to be associated with now.

Maybe the Lib Dems will have a resurgence?

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I agree they should fuck off to the greens

not many on the left of the party appeared bothered about the anti semitism that poisoned the party under Corbyn

but they will most likely lose their seats if they join the greens

MaybeNotBob · 13/05/2026 19:37

JoWilkinsonsno1fan · 13/05/2026 16:39

Palantir were commissioned in late 2023, under the conservative government, jointly by the Dept of Health and NHS England.

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Your point?

https://www.bmj.com/content/392/bmj.s307.full

ConstanzeMozart · 13/05/2026 19:24

IoannahJo · 13/05/2026 17:23

Seriously despair of this personality and charisma crap. Being PM is serious and deserves more than someone who just appeals because of personality. No wonder Farage and Polanski are popular. And Burnham. Do we not learn from the BJ days and Brexit vote etc

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Amen to this.
I'm sick of personality politics.

UtterlyUseless · 13/05/2026 18:09

hairbearbunches · 13/05/2026 12:59

Streeting is Peter Mandelson’s protégée.

Mandelson wants his share of the NHS spoils. Mandelson’s company, Global Counsel, coached Palantir to win the NHS data contract. Streeting is bought and paid for by US private health.

anyone who thinks Streeting is going to be a positive for this country hasn’t been paying enough attention.

Privatisation? And close to mandelson ?

MiaKulper · 13/05/2026 18:07

Twiglets1 · 13/05/2026 18:04

Wes Streeting might find himself in the same boat and also happen to win if there's a leadership challenge.

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I don't think he would.

Original poster

Twiglets1 · 13/05/2026 18:04

MiaKulper · 13/05/2026 17:59

As I understood it, she wasn't the one who said he should go.
There were several candidates. She happened to win.

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Wes Streeting might find himself in the same boat and also happen to win if there's a leadership challenge.

OP posts:

MiaKulper · 13/05/2026 17:59

Twiglets1 · 13/05/2026 17:30

Maybe she pushed the knife in ever so gently. She became leader of the Conservative party.

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As I understood it, she wasn't the one who said he should go.
There were several candidates. She happened to win.

Overtheatlantic · 13/05/2026 17:55

Streeting won’t survive even if he does get to No 10. This is all run by the media; they don’t get clicks with a stable government in power. I think Starmer should stand his ground and let it all blow over.

caringcarer · 13/05/2026 17:51

More Mandleson files are being released next week. Starmer won't survive those.

Original poster

Twiglets1 · 13/05/2026 17:48

ChardonnaysBeastlyCat · 13/05/2026 17:35

But we are paying more.

its just hopelessly bloated.

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How the UK compares internationally

International comparisons in healthcare expenditure can be done in different ways. One way is to look at health expenditure as a % of GDP, which shows how much is spent on health relative to a country’s economy. Another way is to look at health expenditure per head of population, which shows how much is spent per person.

When looking at expenditure as a % of GDP, UK spending is about average. However, this is partially because GDP growth in the UK has been sluggish since the pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, healthcare spending in the UK as a percentage of GDP had historically been below many comparable countries such as France and Germany. When looking at health spend per person – and accounting for the spending power of different currencies – it is clear that the UK spends less than many comparable nations.

https://www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/nhs-delivery-and-workforce/funding/health-funding-data-analysis

Health funding data analysis

Our analysis looks at health and social care funding in the UK, highlighting how it has changed over time, the impact of COVID-19, and the variation across the UK.

https://www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/nhs-delivery-and-workforce/funding/health-funding-data-analysis

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ChardonnaysBeastlyCat · 13/05/2026 17:35

Twiglets1 · 13/05/2026 17:31

Disagree it's neither here nor there. We could be paying more, and would need to in order to properly fund the NHS.

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But we are paying more.

its just hopelessly bloated.

ByGraptharsHammer · 13/05/2026 17:35

IoannahJo · 13/05/2026 17:31

Burnham was a far second to Jeremy Corbyn in the 2015 leadership election. And fourth out of five when Ed Milliband became leader. No doubt he has flourished as Mayor of Manchester but when at Westminster previously clearly wasn’t the flavour of the month.

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Distant second to Jeremy Corbyn!

Andy Burnham is the “one day until use by date” coleslaw of Labour.

Original poster

Twiglets1 · 13/05/2026 17:31

ChardonnaysBeastlyCat · 13/05/2026 17:28

Whether people want to pay more tax is neither here nor there. We are paying more.

The question is where it is going.

Edited

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Disagree it's neither here nor there. We could be paying more, and would need to in order to properly fund the NHS.

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IoannahJo · 13/05/2026 17:31

ByGraptharsHammer · 13/05/2026 17:24

Yes all this King of North stuff is suspect. Why has Andy Burnham been rejected twice already? The Labour Party shouldn’t be looking through candidates like they have yellow stickers in a supermarket

Burnham was a far second to Jeremy Corbyn in the 2015 leadership election. And fourth out of five when Ed Milliband became leader. No doubt he has flourished as Mayor of Manchester but when at Westminster previously clearly wasn’t the flavour of the month.

Original poster

Twiglets1 · 13/05/2026 17:30

MiaKulper · 13/05/2026 17:26

@Twiglets1, She wasn't like a man. She was a steely woman who was both feared and admired by men.
She had a lot of qualities as a leader (not necessarily ones I agreed with).
Heath was unpopular and it wasn't Thatcher who wielded the knife.

Of course she would lose harmlessly, she was a woman wasn't she. Only she wasn't like most women.

Look at us now 50 years later and we're still treated as little women who should know their place, not rock any boats, smile nicely and do as we're told.

Edited

Maybe she pushed the knife in ever so gently. She became leader of the Conservative party.

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ChardonnaysBeastlyCat · 13/05/2026 17:28

Twiglets1 · 13/05/2026 16:52

My husband works in the NHS and it's all cuts, cuts, cuts.

Streeting can't perform miracles given that no one wants to pay more tax and the demand on the NHS is ever expanding. He seems to be doing a decent job though within the very tight budget constraints.

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Whether people want to pay more tax is neither here nor there. We are paying more.

The question is where it is going.

Tigerbalmshark · 13/05/2026 17:27

IoannahJo · 13/05/2026 17:12

Yes I agree, disappointed at the seemingly faux passion then ☹️

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He was passionately pro Corbyn at one point too. Then passionately anti. None of it is real.

He is a slimy mendacious little weasel. More fake and insincere than Tony Blair, which is saying something.

MiaKulper · 13/05/2026 17:26

@Twiglets1, She wasn't like a man. She was a steely woman who was both feared and admired by men.
She had a lot of qualities as a leader (not necessarily ones I agreed with).
Heath was unpopular and it wasn't Thatcher who wielded the knife.

Of course she would lose harmlessly, she was a woman wasn't she. Only she wasn't like most women.

Look at us now 50 years later and we're still treated as little women who should know their place, not rock any boats, smile nicely and do as we're told.

Original poster

Twiglets1 · 13/05/2026 17:26

ByGraptharsHammer · 13/05/2026 17:24

Yes all this King of North stuff is suspect. Why has Andy Burnham been rejected twice already? The Labour Party shouldn’t be looking through candidates like they have yellow stickers in a supermarket

Yellow stickers in a supermarket, lol.

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Original poster

Twiglets1 · 13/05/2026 17:25

Margaret Thatcher was an outsider when she challenged Edward Heath for leadership of the Conservative Party. It was considered unlikely that she would get the number of votes required to force a second ballot. For example, The Economist magazine commented that she was "precisely the sort of candidate... who ought to be able to stand, and lose, harmlessly".

BBC Archive: Originally broadcast 31 January 1975.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/videos/cp3g3lzx2rko

OP posts:

ByGraptharsHammer · 13/05/2026 17:24

Yes all this King of North stuff is suspect. Why has Andy Burnham been rejected twice already? The Labour Party shouldn’t be looking through candidates like they have yellow stickers in a supermarket