Wes Streeting has refused to discuss the Labour briefing war, dismissing it as “silly Westminster soap opera stuff”.
The Health Secretary declined to revisit “yesterday’s news” after a tumultuous day in which he criticised the “toxic” culture in Downing Street following anonymous briefings accusing him of plotting to unseat Sir Keir Starmer.
Mr Streeting said “no idea. Don’t care” whether the Prime Minister was investigating the source of the attacks on him.
Cabinet colleague Ed Miliband earlier said Sir Keir would “get rid” of anyone behind the briefing campaign if he found them, after it emerged the Labour leader would look into who was responsible.
Asked about the saga during a visit to the Paddington Community Diagnostic Centre in Liverpool on Thursday, Mr Streeting told the PA news agency: “I have no intention of revisiting yesterday’s events. That’s yesterday’s news and it’s Westminster bubble stuff that doesn’t mean anything to anyone.”
He added: “I don’t think voters give two monkeys about what on earth is going on in the sort of Westminster village soap opera. What they do care about is, if they’re on an NHS waiting list, are we getting them down?”
Asked about an apology he received from Sir Keir, Mr Streeting told broadcasters: “One of the great things about being here in the North West today is you can leave all that silly Westminster soap opera stuff behind.”
He would not be drawn into discussing the future of No 10 chief of staff Morgan McSweeney, who has been blamed by some within Labour for the fallout from the apparent ploy to warn off potential leadership contenders.
Asked about Sir Keir’s powerful aide directly, Mr Streeting replied: “I’m sure that Morgan McSweeney, Keir Starmer and everyone else is absolutely delighted with the news today that NHS waiting lists are falling.”
The Health Secretary went on to say the NHS was “on the road to recovery” as he highlighted the fall in the waiting list for routine hospital treatment in England, the recruitment of 2,500 more GPs in his first year in the post, and faster ambulance response times.
On Wednesday, Mr Streeting denied the claims he could launch a leadership challenge, called for anyone behind the “juvenile” briefing to be sacked and said they pointed to a “toxic culture” in Sir Keir’s administration.
Speaking on Thursday morning, Energy Secretary Mr Miliband told Sky News: “I’ve talked to Keir before about this kind of briefing that happens. As he always says, if he finds the person, he’ll get rid of them, and I absolutely believe he would do that.”
Asked if he thought the Prime Minister would sack the person, he said: “Sure, yeah.”
He also noted that briefing is a “longstanding aspect” of politics and pointed back to there being “lots and lots of briefing” under Sir Tony Blair and Gordon Brown.
Mr Miliband elsewhere ruled out any suggestion he was among those jostling to replace Sir Keir as Labour leader in future, telling BBC Breakfast: “I had the best inoculation technique against wanting to be leader of the Labour Party because I was leader of the Labour Party between 2010 and 2015.
“I’ve got the T-shirt, that chapter’s closed.”
Sir Keir was forced to condemn “completely unacceptable” attacks on Cabinet ministers, as he told the Commons on Wednesday: “Morgan McSweeney, my team and I are absolutely focused on delivering for the country.”
He later moved to smooth relations with Mr Streeting directly in a brief chat the same evening, their first since the hostilities erupted.
Sir Keir apologised to him for the briefing campaign, without going into details, according to a source.
The two did not discuss Mr McSweeney and agreed to speak again soon.
Sir Keir is “looking into” the source of the attacks, Labour Party chairwoman Anna Turley said.
She told ITV: “He is going to investigate and we’ll see what happens as a consequence of that.”
The unrest at the top of the party comes as Labour’s poll ratings have plummeted since Sir Keir delivered a landslide general election victory in July 2024.
It precedes Rachel Reeves’s Budget in a fortnight, which could see the party rip up its manifesto promise not to increase income tax and MPs fear a bloodbath in elections next May in English councils and the Scottish and Welsh Parliaments.
