Up next in 10
Lewis Goodall spoke to Defence Secretary Wes Streeting after the first week of a new Labour government. Prime Minister Andy Burnham “has the courage” to fix adult social care and will make a start next week, a source has said. Mr Burnham believes the issue of how adult social care works and is funded in England has been “neglected” by previous administrations. The Prime Minister is also expected to make interventions on youth unemployment and devolution in the coming days. A No 10 source said: “Andy is going to run towards problems that have been neglected, giving people hope again. “He has the courage to fix the most difficult issues that have been ignored for years and seen as impossible to resolve." They added: “He doesn’t accept that they are. They can’t be ignored any longer. The Prime Minister is determined to show that governments can make people’s lives better if they choose to. He wants to get Britain believing again.” Unlike NHS care, social care is not free at the point of use and high costs sometimes mean people are forced to sell their homes to pay for what they need. People with savings worth more than £23,250 are not entitled to help with the cost of care from their local council. Mr Burnham has already pledged to “use some of my political capital” on the issue. Listen to the full show on the all-new LBC App: https://app.af.lbc.co.uk/btnc/thenewlbcapp #lewisgoodall #wesstreeting #andyburnham #labour #government #number10 #ukpolitics #keirstarmer #politics #news #uknews #debate #LBC 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
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
On these early days of the Burnham government, I spoke to the unexpected pick for Defence Secretary Wes Streeting
0:06
former Health Secretary, of course. I began by asking him what he made of something we have talked about too often in this show before we got to the politics
0:14
and that is the rising political tension around Pride events that manifested itself in that horrifying attack at the Pride event in Berlin overnight
0:23
well it is a horrifying spectacle and i'm i'm sorry to say that we've seen far too many of these
0:31
types of attacks on innocent people going about their lives and while it's a fast-moving situation
0:39
and too early to speculate on motive my heart and prayers go out to the people of berlin
0:45
and right across germany who i think will be feeling shaken by this
0:49
But the nature of the event, I think there will be LGBT people in this country and across the world who feel similar
0:58
And in many respects, we are in a much better place than we've ever been
1:03
We've got laws that secure our freedom. We've seen changing hearts and minds
1:10
The fact that I'm, as far as I'm aware, the first openly gay Secretary of State for Defence in this country has gone entirely unremarked this week
1:19
good. It shouldn't be any more remarkable than anyone else being appointed to this role
1:26
I think that's a sign of the times changing. But when it comes to rising hate crime or worse
1:33
violent attacks, we can see that the job isn't done. And so when people say
1:38
why do we bother with pride? That is part of the answer. It is, of course, a celebration
1:43
of how far we've come. But it is also a protest against those who don't accept us for who we are
1:48
and who we love. Pride events coming up in Britain throughout the rest of the summer. I think
1:52
Brighton Pride is coming up. Should people planning to attend those events
1:56
do you think they should feel safe in attending them? Yes, we can't let hate win. And we always
2:02
have a policing presence at major events, including Pride, and that's always a welcome presence
2:11
I think obviously the Home Secretary will, with the Chief Constable, assess risk in the normal way
2:18
And it's for the Home Secretary to make determinations with the police about whether additional resources are needed
2:24
But my advice to people with pride coming up is enjoy it and go as you always would do and be who you are and be proud
2:37
Going to the politics or turn to the politics in this new era. Before we get on to defence, you obviously were in the cabinet, the Starmer cabinet
2:44
You're now in this cabinet, the Burnham cabinet. Does it already feel much different? It does. And I think that's for a number of reasons
2:53
Obviously, there are lots of new faces and lots of fresh energy
2:59
But I think there's something about the prime minister. You know, in his first week, he has come in with a sense of optimism and confidence and hope
3:11
He set out in the first days some measures on the cost of living, which is very clear
3:17
don't solve all of the cost of living problems, but do indicate the priority he attaches to cost of living
3:24
and the way in which he's going to go at the issue. And I think in the second week of Andy Burnham's leadership of the country
3:31
you're going to see him run towards some of the big challenges facing Britain
3:37
that others have run away from particularly social care something I feel strongly about but other big issues too youth unemployment and a whole range of big generational challenges He has reiterated of course his commitment
3:51
It's unsurprising to devolution. We're going to hear more about that in the coming week
3:54
He's also reiterated his idea, or he's actually gone there, of this number 10 North thing
4:02
I mean, you're only one of two London MPs in the Cabinet. Is there a bit of a danger of overdoing this emphasis on the North
4:07
not just the North, but the Northwest. I mean, you've got so many members of the cabinet from Greater Manchester
4:13
and is there not a risk that, frankly, it just irritates not only the 30 million people who live in the South
4:17
many of whom now have Labour and peace, but if you're someone who lives in, say, Sunderland or Glasgow or in Cardiff
4:23
actually, you're just sick to death already of hearing about Manchester and how brilliant it is
4:29
Well, it takes the heat off London for a bit, doesn't it? I mean, hating London has become a national pastime for a while
4:34
We're used to that. But let me just say this as a serious point, actually, which is that we have been far too concentrated in London and the southeast, whether that's on the economy, whether that's politically cultural offer
4:51
There does need to be a rebalancing. And I feel very strongly as a lifelong Londoner, that's in the interest of our city as well
4:57
It is overheated. It is overcrowded. We can't just keep piling more pressure on London to deliver for the UK economy
5:03
we need jobs and opportunities and growth in every postcode in every part of the country
5:07
But London's our capital city. It is. It has political legitimacy as our capital city
5:11
If we have a prime minister, every time a prime minister comes in and decides to set up their office wherever their constituency happens to be
5:16
who wouldn't think that was a very good idea? If Boris Johnson had decided to have a number 10 Cotswolds, we wouldn't have thought that was a very good idea, would we
5:21
Well, I don't think that's... I'll come on to number 10 North specifically, because I want to just spell out exactly how I see it
5:29
But as Londoners, I don't think we should feel at all defensive about this
5:37
You're right. We are our capital city. I think we're the greatest city on earth. I think the government script now obliges me to say London is one of the two greatest cities on earth with Manchester
5:46
But, you know, in all seriousness, you know, we've got a great capital city
5:52
We're proud of it. The Prime Minister is proud of it. But we've got to spread opportunity and growth
5:56
And that's for number 10 North. Tens of thousands of pounds. I mean, we saw the story over the course of the last few days
6:01
of the amount of money that's already cost to set it up, the amount of money that he's going to be spending
6:06
just to go up there once a week or spend a couple of days there as opposed to just working from number 10 like all other prime ministers
6:12
I mean, what decisions would the Starmer government have made which were better if they'd had a number 10 North
6:17
So on number 10 North, it's not just an office. It is a change of mindset and approach
6:23
Working above a slug and lettuce. And it happens to be based in Manchester
6:28
It could have been based in a whole number of other cities across the north
6:33
But it is actually about driving the government's growth and devolution agenda
6:39
And in common with some of the other government departments we've seen with bases outside of London
6:46
the more you can bring different perspectives, different skills, different talent, drawing on the talent from across the country to serving government, the better
6:56
So I do think that that mindset shift is desperately needed in Whitehall
7:01
Were you surprised to be made Defence Secretary? I was absolutely delighted
7:05
Were you surprised? I was because I had no idea until I walked into the Cabinet room what he was going to ask me to do
7:10
It was a job I wanted. And I've just found, I mean, I've been in this job for barely a week
7:17
I've always had admiration for the men and women who serve in uniform. I always been conscious that this country for its size punches above its weight in the world and is able to do things that other countries are not and has capabilities that even a superpower like the United States relies upon
7:34
Now I have this unique window into aspects of our people and operations that the public do not always see
7:43
My admiration for those people has only grown. And so it is an enormous honour and privilege as well as a heavy responsibility to have been asked to be the Defence Secretary
7:51
And the reason the Prime Minister has asked me to do this job is not just to make sure we invest in our defence, but to make sure that we modernise, that we get value for that investment
8:00
And that the Ministry of Defence drives re-industrialisation, jobs, growth, opportunities for working class young people across the country through the investment we make in defence
8:09
What do you say to the criticism of Defence Secretary, to use an old Gordon Brown quote, that this is no time for a novice
8:14
the former head of the British Army on this programme last week said that you know the square root of diddly squat about defence
8:21
and therefore not a very good pick for the job. Well, that's why the Chancellor, the Prime Minister
8:27
didn't ask me to be the chief of the defence staff. We are surrounded by military leaders and experts
8:33
What the job of the Secretary of State for Defence is to do is to fight the Ministry of Defence's corner in Whitehall
8:40
to make sure we get the resources we need, to make sure those resources are well spent and to make sure that I'm giving our people here and throughout the world
8:51
not just the responsibility, but the resources and the equipment they need to discharge very dangerous and difficult and essential duties on behalf of this country
9:01
I come into this role having served as health and social care secretary for two years with a larger budget
9:07
and more people under my responsibility in the National Health Service. And I've been asked to do this job because I'm a moderniser
9:17
And you saw in the time that I was Health Secretary, we balanced the books of the Department of Health for the first time in a decade
9:23
We won more resources. We were modernising the NHS and we were delivering improvements in the NHS's performance
9:30
So on the basis of winning resources in Whitehall for defence, Is it your position, do you agree with your predecessor as Defence Secretary, that the previous Prime Minister and Chancellor did not spend enough money and did not secure or spend enough money on securing us against our adversaries
9:49
I think it's deeply regrettable that John Healy was forced to resign. And I think it's deeply regrettable that he had to fight so hard, as did Dan Jarvis, to whom I also pay enormous tribute, my immediate predecessor
10:02
They had to fight really hard to get the additional resources out. So £15 billion above what was earmarked in the spending review initially
10:10
So do you agree with him that Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves let us down? There's more to go at. I'm not going to make personal criticism of people who've left office
10:17
It's fruitless. But I do know that we need to invest more in our defence
10:23
I do know that in John Healy and Andy Burnham, I've got two people there in key positions who agree
10:29
And at the budget and at future spending reviews, we'll be setting out how we will meet our international obligations
10:35
to spend 3.5% on defence by 2035. But it's not just about the number and the deadline
10:42
It is about the capability we need and how quickly we can deliver that
10:46
and making sure that as we do and as we're investing more in our defence
10:51
we're getting maximum bang for that buck by also investing here in the UK
10:55
in jobs, skills, opportunities in every part of the country. So is it your position that we need to hit 3% by 2030
11:01
We certainly need to hit 3.5% by 2035. 3% by 2030? We got to go as hard as we can in the meantime to get there I not going to write the Chancellor at a future budget and spending review however much Presumably he still quite committed to it though I mean he resigned over it
11:17
So it would be a peculiar thing if he were to resign as Defence Secretary and then when he had a position to give you the money
11:22
you, his successor, the money as Chancellor, it would be an odd thing to do
11:26
I think it's fair to make that assumption, but it is also right that I do not sit here
11:30
as the Defence Secretary and attempt to write the Chancellor's budget and spending review
11:36
That would be... But you think that was necessary? But you think that 3% and 3.5%, it is your view that that's the appropriate amount of money for us to be spending on defence
11:42
I think we've got to have a clear path to 3.5%. But in the meantime, we've also got to make sure the money that's already going into defence is well spent
11:51
And that's part of the task. And just finally, we see, I'm sure you'll have seen, Defence Secretary, the newspaper's full of reports from angry Starmerites
11:59
who are irritated as to how they were treated by the incoming Prime Minister and promising
12:03
admittedly off the record at the moment, but promising revenge when it comes to the budget
12:08
and other big events later in the year when Parliament returns. What would your message be to your disaffected and dispossessed colleagues on the back benches
12:16
I think a few things. Firstly, change isn't easy. And it's not easy when you're asked to leave a post that you've enjoyed and you love doing
12:26
And I've got a number of friends in that position. So I understand how people will be feeling
12:31
I left government, the previous government. They say disloyal people like you were rewarded
12:36
while loyal people like them have been punished. That's the message of what the Labour Party's done
12:40
The loyal basically get sanctioned, get banished to the wilderness, and people like you who were disloyal to the Labour leader
12:47
they get elevated. Oh, I've always been loyal, but I'm loyal to our country first and foremost
12:53
And I reached the conclusion, and it was hard, because there are many aspects of Keir Starmer's character
13:00
and leadership that I admire and I'd worked very closely with him. It was hard to leave his
13:06
government and to leave a job that I absolutely loved. But the reason I did it is because I didn't
13:11
believe that the leadership he was providing was what the country needed. And when you lose
13:17
confidence in the prime minister, you have a responsibility to tell them. And if you remember
13:22
the cabinet, you have a responsibility to leave the government. And that's what I did. And I think I did that with integrity. People might not agree with the decision, but I sought to act with
13:30
integrity at all times. Now we've got a new leader and we have got one shot at this. Andy
13:36
Burnham's described this as Labour's last chance. I think what he's done this week is give Labour
13:41
a precious opportunity, which is a second chance at a first impression. And I think the way in which
13:47
he's going about his leadership of the country is giving people a Labour government that they
13:53
had hoped they would get when they voted for change two years ago. Optimistic, confident
14:00
inspiring hope, and not pretending that all those big challenges that weighed down Keir
14:05
Starmer's government don't exist, but being motivated by those challenges rather than
14:10
weighed down by them. And so whether it's the cost of living measures he announced in
14:15
week one, action on bus fares or energy bills, or whether it's the big issues he's going
14:19
to confront in the second week. So your message to those on the recalcitrant MPs
14:23
would be to shut up? I think we've just got to pull together
14:28
And I understand how people be feeling. I really do. It's hard leaving government
14:32
I did it myself only recently. I do understand how people might feel
14:36
but we've got to think about the country first and foremost, the success of the Labour Party
14:41
and the consequences if we fail. The reason I left the Labour government
14:45
under Keir Starmer is that we were losing to reform. Andy Burnham has shown us how we can win again
14:50
and deliver the change that people voted for at the last general election. Wes Streeting, Defence Secretary, congratulations on the new position
14:56
Thank you
#news