Tories taken over by ‘crackpots and conspiracy theorists’, says Labour’s Wes Streeting

Published

2 years ago

October 8, 2023

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The Tories have been taken over by “crackpots and conspiracy theorists”, Wes Streeting said as he defended Labour’s appeal to voters.

Appearing on Sky News’ Sunday Morning with Trevor Phillips programme, the shadow health secretary rejected criticism that his party under Sir Keir Starmer’s leadership is “a bit wet”.

He said he was “proud” Labour is “appealing to the country rather than repelling people” when “the cranks, the crackpots and the conspiracy theorists” have taken over the Conservative Party.

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Pointing to comments made by Transport Secretary Mark Harper – who last week claimed local councils want to “decide how often you go the shops” – Mr Streeting added: “When you’ve got cabinet ministers, notionally serious cabinet ministers like Mark Harper on your programme this morning, peddling conspiracy theories as if he’s been doom-scrolling TikTok trying to find the most bonkers things to say from the conference platform – what are these people doing?

“And how on earth does this address the biggest crises in our country?”

Mr Streeting was responding to criticism from the head of Labour’s biggest donor, who last night warned the party against being “too timid” and “limping into Number 10”.

Sharon Graham, the general secretary of Unite, said she wanted the party to resemble the reforming Labour government of 1945 led by Clement Attlee in the aftermath of the Second World War, when the NHS was founded.

Mr Streeting made the point that Labour’s new plan to spend £1.1bn providing another two million NHS appointments during evenings and weekends is an example of its ambition.

The measure forms part of Labour’s NHS proposals – including extra scanners and dental reforms – worth around £1.6bn, but it relies on NHS staff volunteering for extra shifts despite the lure of lucrative private work.

Labour peer Peter Mandelson said he agreed with Ms Graham that “we need more than policy tweaks and we need more than small twists of the policy dial”.

However, he said Sir Keir needs to continue doing what he’s doing “taking the party from being ‘weird’ to ‘normal’.”

RMT boss Mick Lynch also called on Labour to be bolder, telling Sky News: “There’s no point in being timid or hiding your light under a bushel. People need something to vote for, not just something to vote against.”

It comes as Labour members gather in Liverpool for what could be the final Labour conference before the expected general election next year.

After its dire performance at the last election, the party has been buoyed by consistent double-digit poll leads over the Tories and the recent Rutherglen and Hamilton West by-election triumph over the SNP.

Speaking to the BBC, Sir Keir said he wanted to use the conference to change people’s minds about those who aren’t convinced by him.

Confronted with a word cloud that suggested the public thought “nothing” about him, he said: “I’ve had a lot worse thrown at me in my life… that is why this week is so important for us.

“We come here to this, the last conference before a general election, to set out our positive case.”

In other developments as the conference started on Sunday:

Sir Keir said his plan to grow the economy would raise money to invest in public services – but would not say what would happen if the economy doesn’t grow
The Labour leader restated a commitment to build 1.5 million homes over a five-year term, and said he would scrap the Rwanda deportation plan even if it’s approved by the courts and brings down Channel crossings
Deputy leader Angela Rayner gave a speech which was interrupted by a heckler talking about the NHS
The speech addressed rental reforms, housing and workers’ rights but did not contain new policy

Politics

‘No doubt’ UK will spend 3% of GDP on defence in next parliament, defence secretary says

Published

3 hours ago

May 31, 2025

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'No doubt' UK will spend 3% of GDP on defence in next parliament, defence secretary says

There is “no doubt” the UK “will spend 3% of our GDP on defence” in the next parliament, the defence secretary has said.

John Healey’s comments come ahead of the publication of the government’s Strategic Defence Review (SDR) on Monday.

This is an assessment of the state of the armed forces, the threats facing the UK, and the military transformation required to meet them.

Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer has previously set out a “clear ambition” to raise defence spending to 3% in the next parliament “subject to economic and fiscal conditions”.

Mr Healey has now told The Times newspaper there is a “certain decade of rising defence spending” to come, adding that this commitment “allows us to plan for the long term. It allows us to deal with the pressures.”

A government source insisted the defence secretary was “expressing an opinion, which is that he has full confidence that the government will be able to deliver on its ambition”, rather than making a new commitment.

The UK currently spends 2.3% of GDP on defence, with Sir Keir announcing plans to increase that to 2.5% by 2027 in February.

This followed mounting pressure from the White House for European nations to do more to take on responsibility for their own security and the defence of Ukraine.

The 2.3% to 2.5% increase is being paid for by controversial cuts to the international aid budget, but there are big questions over where the funding for a 3% rise would be found, given the tight state of government finances.

While a commitment will help underpin the planning assumptions made in the SDR, there is of course no guarantee a Labour government would still be in power during the next parliament to have to fulfil that pledge.

A statement from the Ministry of Defence makes it clear that the official government position has not changed in line with the defence secretary’s comments.

The statement reads: “This government has announced the largest sustained increase to defence spending since the end of the Cold War – 2.5% by 2027 and 3% in the next parliament when fiscal and economic conditions allow, including an extra £5bn this financial year.

“The SDR will rightly set the vision for how that uplift will be spent, including new capabilities to put us at the leading edge of innovation in NATO, investment in our people and making defence an engine for growth across the UK – making Britain more secure at home and strong abroad.”

Sir Keir commissioned the review shortly after taking office in July 2024. It is being led by Lord Robertson, a former Labour defence secretary and NATO secretary general.

The Ministry of Defence has already trailed a number of announcements as part of the review, including plans for a new Cyber and Electromagnetic Command and a £1bn battlefield system known as the Digital Targeting Web, which we’re told will “better connect armed forces weapons systems and allow battlefield decisions for targeting enemy threats to be made and executed faster”.

On Saturday, the defence secretary announced a £1.5bn investment to tackle damp, mould and make other improvements to poor quality military housing in a bid to improve recruitment and retention.

Mr Healey pledged to “turn round what has been a national scandal for decades”, with 8,000 military family homes currently unfit for habitation.

He said: “The Strategic Defence Review, in the broad, will recognise that the fact that the world is changing, threats are increasing.

“In this new era of threat, we need a new era for defence and so the Strategic Defence Review will be the vision and direction for the way that we’ve got to strengthen our armed forces to make us more secure at home, stronger abroad, but also learn the lessons from Ukraine as well.

“So an armed forces that can be more capable of innovation more quickly, stronger to deter the threats that we face and always with people at the heart of our forces… which is why the housing commitments that we make through this strategic defence review are so important for the future.”