FURIOUS allies of Wes Streeting have slapped down “self-defeating” briefings calling for him to be sacked.
Anonymous Cabinet ministers called for him to be fired yesterday amid a growing war of words at the top of Sir Keir Starmer’s government.
They complained about the Health Secretary making opinionated statements and having leadership ambitions.
Sources close to Mr Streeting pointed the finger at the “geniuses” in No10 for the orchestrated attack.
“It feels like Groundhog Day,” a source close to Mr Streeting told the Sun on Sunday.
“When the Tories and Reform are at each other’s throats, it’s yet another utterly self-defeating briefing.
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“We should be talking about the second biggest drop in waiting lists in 15 years, Keir taking on Elon Musk and winning, good growth figures, and ambulances arriving 15 minutes faster than last winter.
“But the geniuses in Number 10 can’t help themselves.”
The latest row comes after an extraordinary briefing last year that the Health Secretary was preparing to mount a leadership challenge.
And in the same week that Labour’s rivals – the Tories and Reform – have been tearing into each other.
Mr Streeting made a series of interventions in recent days which put his colleagues’ noses out of joint.
They include saying that the Government needs to get things right “first time” after lots of U-turns and calling for a ban on social media for under-16s.
One Cabinet Minister said Sir Keir Starmer should learn from Kemi Badenoch who launched a preemptive strike against Robert Jenrick this week.
“He is undermining all of us,” they told The Times. Another said he had been “pushing the boundary” of what is acceptable and another added: “It’s wild behaviour.”
But Labour big beast Lord Blunkett hit back saying it would be “ludicrous” to sack Mr Streeting.
He blasted: “I think this idea that you chop off the heads of tall poppies, if somebody’s doing a really good job – they’re in the media, they’re up front, they’re reaching the public – and then you chop them down because there may be a risk to your premiership, you really do need to go and put your head into a dark room for an hour or two and rethink it.”
He told Times Radio if the Government turned the opinion polls round there would not be a threat to Sir Keir.
It comes just days after Mr Streeting channelled Sir Tony Blair in a leadership pitch at an exclusive Labour gathering.
He said: “As someone almost once said ‘we’re the future now so let’s make the most of it’.”
Wes outlined his political philosophy in the whopping 24 minute speech at a glitzy event to mark the 30th anniversary of centrist Labour faction Progress.
He received a standing ovation and told MPs: “We have the power to do big things, to shape our country, to change our public services for the better and improve lives in every corner of our country.
“The tragedy of this party, for more than 100 years, is that we spend so little time in government and so much time in opposition.”
Mr Streeting also extended a hand out to the party’s left wing, in another echo of Blair.
One Labour MP told this paper: “I think we can safely say that was a call to arms.”
Chief whip Jonathan Reynolds teased Mr Streeting at the fancy bash saying he was there to “keep an eye on” him.
Sir Keir’s powerful chief of staff Morgan McSweeney also attended the bash on Wednesday – along with Chancellor Rachel Reeves and Cabinet ministers Bridget Phillipson, Liz Kendall and Pat McFadden.