Labour must counter a "growing sense of despair" among the British public and demonstrate it can deliver in office, Cabinet minister Wes Streeting said. The Health Secretary acknowledged that Sir Keir Starmer's (Labour) administration had not told a "compelling enough story" about its achievements.
Streeting admitted people were not yet feeling the change they voted for at the general election. His comments came after Labour's humiliating third-place finish in the Caerphilly by-election, losing a seat the party had held for more than 100 years.
Lessons from electoral defeat
The Welsh town saw Labour finish behind both Plaid Cymru and Reform UK in what marked another electoral setback for the Prime Minister. Streeting compared the Caerphilly result to Labour's 2021 Hartlepool by-election loss, which had led Starmer to contemplate resigning as party leader.
He told the Sunday Times that Starmer "not only took that result on the chin, he took it to heart" and used it to accelerate Labour Party reforms while in opposition. "We've got to take the message from Caerphilly not just on the chin, we've got to take it to heart - and we have got to change the way our Labour Government drives change and delivers in just the same way we did in opposition after Hartlepool," Streeting said.
Context of a difficult week
The Caerphilly defeat capped what proved a particularly challenging period for Starmer's government. The Prime Minister had faced a bruising week with chaos in the grooming gangs inquiry, the return of a small boat migrant who was sent to France under the one in, one out deal, and the blunder which saw Hadush Kebatu released from prison.
Growing disillusionment across Britain
Speaking on Sky News, Streeting painted a stark picture of public sentiment. "There is a deep disillusionment in this country at the moment and, I'd say, a growing sense of despair about whether anyone is capable of turning this country around," he said.
The Health Secretary insisted he remained optimistic, citing "green shoots of recovery in the NHS, in the economy, in our public services". However, he admitted there was "so much more to do" and challenges needed to be attacked "with the level of energy and focus that the scale of the challenge demands".
Criticism of government messaging
Streeting acknowledged that voters were "not yet feeling the change" despite what he described as "lots of good things this Labour Government has done in our first 15 months". He offered a rare public criticism of the government's communication strategy.
"If I have one criticism of us collectively as a team, we are not telling a compelling enough story about who we are, who we're for and what it is we are driving to do," he said. By the next general election, Labour had to show "how things have improved across the board, and we want people to feel that change".
Deputy leader calls for bolder approach
Labour's newly-elected deputy leader Lucy Powell called on Starmer to be bolder and show "whose side we are on". Powell, who was sacked from the Prime Minister's Cabinet last month, said the government needed to demonstrate a "stronger sense of our purpose".
Powell warned against Labour shifting rightward to counter Nigel Farage's threat, stating "we can't out-Reform Reform". She insisted "people feel that this Government is not being bold enough in delivering the kind of change we promised" and called for the party to "offer hope, to offer the big change the country is crying out for".
Her election as deputy leader could spell trouble for Starmer, as she will now be free to criticise government policies from the backbenches rather than being bound by collective responsibility like her defeated rival, Education Secretary Bridget Phillipson.
Sources used: "PA Media" Note: This article has been created with Artificial Intelligence (AI).
