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Wes Streeting has resigned as Health Secretary, saying on Thursday that he has lost confidence in Keir Starmer. Streeting, alongside Andy Burnham, is now being viewed as a potential challenger for the Labour leadership. In his resignation, Streeting said any discussion about Labour’s future “needs to be broad and it needs the best possible field of candidates.” At the last general election, Streeting narrowly held onto his Ilford North seat by just 528 votes, facing a strong challenge from a pro-Palestinian independent candidate during a campaign marked by rising public frustration with the Conservative government. So what do his constituents make of him? LBC’s Joe Draper reports. Listen to the full show on the all-new LBC App: https://app.af.lbc.co.uk/btnc/thenewlbcapp #joedraper #wesstreeting #LBC #andyburnham #labour #ukpolitics #uknews #debate LBC is the home of live debate around news and current affairs in the UK. Join in the conversation and listen at https://www.lbc.co.uk/ Sign up to LBC’s weekly newsletter here: https://l-bc.co/signup
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0:00
West Streeting has resigned from the government and attacked the Prime Minister
0:04
He's now one of the frontrunners for leadership of the party and the country
0:09
But there's a shadow hanging over his constituency here in Ilford North
0:14
I bet you if there's an election here tomorrow, Streeting will lose. Yeah, he will lose
0:18
At the 2024 general election, he won this seat narrowly against a relatively unknown independent candidate
0:26
It was one of the narrowest margins in the country for a Labour frontbencher
0:32
And since then, things have only gotten worse for the Labour Party. They've just lost hundreds of councillors across the country to reform and the Green Party
0:42
So we've come here to ask Streeting's constituents whether a man who could lose his own seat in a general election
0:48
should be setting his eyes on number 10. We've just had this news through the last few minutes
0:53
West Streeting quits. He's obviously your local MP. could well launch a leadership bid soon
0:58
What's your immediate reaction to that? I don't think he's the candidate for the premiership in the country
1:04
and I'll tell you why. Firstly, he does not enjoy the local support to the extent one would
1:11
He's only won about 500-odd votes. He could have lost the elections
1:15
And what does it say that this man, who could lose his seat in an election
1:19
yet he's eyeing the leadership of the country? Well, exactly. I don't think he's going to win the next time anyway
1:24
I mean, he had a 10,000 majority. which was narrowed down to 580-something
1:28
And since then, the situation's gotten worse for later. Of course it is. I bet you, if there's an election here tomorrow
1:33
Streeting will lose. Yeah, he will lose. And I think it's right now
1:36
First of all, he's not got a safe seat. And that's his own fault
1:41
because he didn't campaign hard enough in 2024. And he was gallivanting around the country
1:47
making a media star of himself. And he should have been in the constituency
1:52
campaigning against the Independent, who was campaigning really hard and took nearly all his votes
1:58
That's the first thing. The second thing is, is one or two people he's too pally with
2:02
I won name names but I sure I don have to And I think that will go against him And I guess the concern is that should someone be running to be Prime Minister when they almost lost their own seat at a general election
2:15
and indeed could lose their seat at the next general election? Very likely, very likely, unless he campaigns a bit harder
2:22
and actually shows his face here. So let's go back to July 2024
2:27
when Labour won a historic landslide in the general election. Confidence in the Prime Minister, Sakhir Starmer, was high
2:35
as he went into government with a majority of over 170 MPs behind him
2:41
But here in Ilford, signs of the party's future troubles were already starting to show
2:47
As a Labour frontbencher and one of the party's rising stars, Streeting's victory here should have been a sure thing
2:54
but his previously substantial majority dropped by 20%, winning by just over 500 votes
3:03
The reason? British-Palestinian candidate Lianne Mohammed, who got over 15,100 votes standing on a pro-Gaza ticket
3:12
And with many of his constituents still caring deeply about Palestine, the risk for streating and labour remains high
3:21
Palestine has caused a rift. And if he changes the position on that
3:26
I think he could get his seat back with a, not a comfortable majority, but he will retain his seat
3:32
And I think he has swung his position towards recognition of Palestine
3:38
but in effect that's not done anything on the ground. I mean, look, I know we should be concerned about local issues
3:45
but at the end of the day, it's the principles people stand for, which tends to get them, you know, which tends to signify their political direction
3:55
but in his case, let's see what his manifesto is. Because at the moment, the pensioners are hurting
4:02
This is relatively well-off area, but we've got food banks. I see you're wearing a Free Palestine badge
4:08
Do you think Labour is on your side when it comes to Palestine? Yes yes yes I like Palestine What I don know OK Thank you Take care Why is that such a big issue here do you think Because there a huge Muslim population
4:24
and although there's a huge Jewish population as well in the Gansill area
4:29
there is this thing about the... I mean, I'm a Muslim. There's a huge Muslim population
4:34
My views could be in line with yours or maybe against other people
4:39
but that's one thing. But sometimes people do exploit the situations. I mean, Palestine issue is an important issue, but it's not here, is it
4:46
And obviously we're not involved in it directly. America is. And if it's a good, very good stance by Keir Starmer not to join Trump blindly
4:56
I think you've got to stand up for that. And it's a good stance
5:00
But there is very strong support in East London, because of the Muslim population in Soviet
5:07
People have got their views in restaurants who don't find Coke or there are restaurants where they don't sell Coke but they sell Fanta
5:14
which is made by the same company. It's really stupid as well. But I think the reason for West Streeting's position in the local constituency is very weak
5:24
Well, look, there's a real range of views there from the people we've spoken to
5:28
But even among the lifelong Labour supporters, there's a real hesitancy there, I think, about West Streeting's potential leadership bid
5:37
Whether or not he'd make a good prime minister, whether or not he would change the situation for the Labour Party
5:43
Indeed, whether he would even win his own seat here in a general election
5:47
because of how close the results were the last time around. I heard it
5:52
Changing is something for better. We hope he will do better for our country
5:58
Do you think he'll help? We hope. We can dream. We can do nothing more
6:05
But it is better for everyone. It's good. What's he like as a local MP? Is he popular? Do you like him
6:14
Yeah, I like him. And I hope he'll do better for our local community
6:20
At the last election West Streeting almost lost this seat Lots of people voted against him Do you think he should be running for prime Minister when he could lose his own seat at the election No I don think so anyway Because he didn deliver on the NHS
6:35
Which I just said. Yeah, you wouldn't vote for him? No. What would your message
6:39
be to West Streeting as he potentially prepares to run for leadership
6:42
He shouldn't be letting people into the country to allow people that
6:47
haven't contributed to our country to use the NHS. If a British citizen contributes
6:52
or they don't use the NHS, they pay. It was my message to him
6:57
I vote reform. You vote reform. I'm a reform member. So you wouldn't be voting for West Streeting at another election
7:03
No, I'm a reform member. I've had enough of Labour. Yeah. Why have you had enough of them
7:07
Because they're letting too many people in. Yeah. And not enough change in the country
7:12
Do you think if West Streeting became Prime Minister, it'd make any difference at all? No. I think Nigel Farage needs to get in and change this country around
7:20
Is West Streeting and Labour popular here? Labour popular was popular, but not right at this moment
7:29
The reform is... and also Green Party is... as well as they are rising
7:37
Why do you think people are no longer as supportive of Labour as they used to be
7:41
Because Labour Party is maybe some... It's community focus that's not really prepared with
7:53
Not focused on the community? No focus on the community. Not good
7:58
Well, look, there's a real mix here. You can feel it. Some people still enthusiastic about West Street
8:04
others anxious about what his future holds. And since the last election, things have only become more difficult
8:11
not just for Labour, but also the Conservatives. Our two-party system fractures
8:17
and candidates from small parties, including Reform and the Greens, start to do much better in elections
8:24
So even if Mr Streeting becomes the next Prime Minister and leads his party into a general election
8:30
there's no guarantee he'll even win his own seat. So the question now is whether it's all worth the risk
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