I think Wes Streeting is the fresh direction Labour needs now

[WesStreetingForPM]

Name changed because we are at a pivotal point in our lifetimes, and my focus now needs to be on this.

I do think Starmer is a decent man, but Labour risks being wiped out entirely if he stays in charge. I see this in my own family and community.

We need a change of direction and a fresh face who can actually connect and get things done. For me, and I feel for those around me, that person is Wes Streeting.

He’s done a solid job as Health Secretary in tough circumstances. He’s pragmatic, articulate and not afraid of reform where it’s needed (which is exactly what the NHS requires). He comes from a genuine working-class background - council estate and free school meals - so he understands real life in a way some career politicians don’t. He can talk about aspiration, responsibility and actually winning elections in a way most career politicians simply cannot.

And yes, I’ll say it - the fact that he’s an openly gay man is a massive positive. It shows progress and that someone can reach the top on merit while being open about who they are. Representation matters!

Wes feels like the candidate who could actually win the next election and deliver.

I would love to see Mumsnet unite behind Wes - who I think would make a fantastic Prime Minister.

@RobinStrikeah yes- he’s gay. Are you Wes Streetings partner op?

One of the reasons why Zack is doing so well is because he is a member of the LGBTQIA+ community.

Representation matters.

He is a gay man

Gay men can have wives.

Zubir Ahmed has just resigned!

This is big news - he's very close to Wes.

It's on people!!!

Indeed, Burnham was closer to the Mandelson/Blair/Campbell government than Streeting ever was. Streeting is 43, he wasn’t even in parliament when Burnham and Miliband were part of that cabinet and hobnobbing with Mandelson daily. Pretty much anyone in Westminster Labour in a cabinet position could be labelled “close to Mandelson”. The man lurks around power like a bad smell.

Burnham was roundly rejected by the membership twice already and went off to be King of the North. His politics seem to have shifted sharply to the left since he got a sniff of dead meat and started circling in Westminster - he was a fully plaid up Blairite when that was expedient. Its only a couple of years since he insisted he was totally devoted to t’North and wanted another period as mayor.

Who the fuck is he?

Really? Both are gay, Zack is a white MC private schoolboy of the type which already abound in Westminster.

No, I think this is Wes himself. He’s got time to spare now he no longer WhatsApp’s Peter Mandelson.

He is a narcissistic snake and the very last person that should be PM. He has set fire to NHS England without ever really understanding what it did. It’s all PR and no substance. He’s very good at media and soundbites but that isn’t really enough to be a good leader.

Health minister. A good man with a decent record of delivery.

He is likely to be a cabinet secretary if Wes Streeting becomes PM.

t’s all PR and no substance

NHSE?

Harsh but mostly true. It was a redundant layer of bureaucracy created by Lansley in his disastrous attempts at reform.

Zack is the direct descendant of Polish immigrants who had to change their name so that they wouldn't get attacked by racist neanderthals and is also a Jewish man critical of Israel which makes him a prime target of derision by the establishment. He is the exact embodiment of the Green Party and your smears will fall on deaf ears.

Zack is a trendy London boy who lives in Walthamstow on a house boat probably hanging out drinking non alcoholic trendy craft beer. That is about it.

At least the Muslim lady is from Birmingham (half way down the country), in this fight of the North vs the South or whatever Red vs Blue Labour etc.

The competition to show how marginalised or working class you are, surely pretty much everyone sees through that instantly? I mean we had it all already with Keir and his toolmakers. It is so stupid and naff. And the real working class electorate does not fall for any of it. That much they should have learnt by now.

eh?

He is also a white MC private schoolboy, born and raised in the UK. Which of these points is a “smear”?

It was common practice in the 30s for Jews fleeing the Nazis to anglicise their names, just as it was for other immigrant groups. Its equally common for their children to change names back. I’m not sure why this is relevant to his status as a white male who was raised in an affluent home and privately educated - like half of Westminster.

Arguably yes but the way in which it has been done is not sensible. In any well functioning organisation you wouldn’t decide to cut numbers by 50% then do the work to understand what functions it actually does. I don’t think many people will cry about its abolition but there are good and bad ways to go about governing and the sound bite came before the work.

@C8H10N4O2 Wes Streeting is an enthusiastic member of Mandelson’s Sunday night supper clubs. Streeting is Mandelson’s protégée.

Slogans:

Streeting Streams Solutions

Wes Wins for Wellness

Streeting Steers Success

Wes Works Wonders

Are all good, but maybe the best is:

Winning With Wes

Can't we just find the best person for the job rather than decreeing that they must come from a marginalised group. As long as those groups have representation and are heard, I don't understand why it is a priority for a PM.

Are you on glue?!

@Motnighti was just about to say OP needs to step away from whatever they are taking!

@InstantlyBellawhat does marginalised credentials have to do with anything? Half the cabinet is gay ! Surely policies and effective strategies for implementation are more important than skin colour, ethnicity or whether they are LGB or straight ?

Or female to add to the different “minorities “ in the government

If we have a competent gay man as Prime Minister it will show potential Reform voters that they have nothing to fear with LGBTQIA+ and they can come back to Labour

I doubt anyone is giving it a thought.