Wes Streeting brands Nigel Farage a 'miserabilist' as he warns of threat from the populist right
25 January 2025, 14:28
Wes Streeting has branded Nigel Farage a “miserablist” as he called on Labour to offer hope to the British people.
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In a speech at the annual Fabian Society New Year conference, the Health Secretary warned his party “the populist right are coming for us” as he hit out at Farage’s vision for Britain.
It comes after, for the first time, a poll showed Reform UK as the most popular party in the country.
"The populist right are coming for us, and we need to be serious about beating them,” Mr Streeting said.
He added: "The crux of Farage's argument is this: what was possible in the 20th century isn't possible in the 21st. It's a miserablist, declinist vision for Britain's future.
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"People shouldn't have to choose between a health service that treats them on time and an NHS free at the point of use.
"That's a poverty of ambition for our country and Labour utterly rejects it."
The Health Secretary’s speech was interrupted by two protesters calling for Labour to do more to combat climate change.
One woman shouted: "When we voted for Labour we voted for change" as she warned of "climate breakdown".
The Health Secretary said the Labour Government was ending strikes, putting pregnant doctors back on the front line and hiring more GPs, adding: "And that's much better than shouting from the sidelines."
Mr Streeting said that while the Government has worked hard to bring about the change it promised there is "a hell of a lot more to do" as he vowed "the best is still to come".
The Health Secretary said: "Let's get stuck into 2025 with hope, optimism and confidence about Britain and its future.
"And let's never forget how far we've come. People said Keir Starmer couldn't win the Labour leadership and he did. They said he couldn't change the Labour Party, and he did. They said he couldn't win a general election. And he did.
"Now they say he can't change our country, but he will. We've got a lot done, hell of a lot more to do. Change has only just begun. And the best is still to come."
