Exclusive: Wes Streeting Says Reform UK Is 'Now Labour's Main Opposition'
Wes Streeting has said that Reform UK is “now Labour’s main opposition”.
The health secretary is the first senior government figure to claim Nigel Farage’s party has now supplanted the Tories, despite having only five MPs.
Streeting said Reform should not be “underestimated” by Labour – but insisted the right-wing party’s rise had not prompted the government’s immigration crackdown.
Reform UK won more than 600 council seats in England, as well as two mayoral contests and the by-election in Runcorn and Helsby, as both Labour and the Conservatives endured a miserable night.
Speaking to Matt Forde’s Political Party Live on Monday, Streeting said: “I think there’s a genuine question if people are less cynical about Farage than they used to be.
“Let’s not forget that – for whatever I might think of him and his politics and what he has done to our country – he is objectively one of the most formidable campaigners in British politics.
“So we should not underestimate him and we should not underestimate Reform.
“I genuinely think that Reform is now Labour’s main opposition in the country, and there is a realignment on the right of British politics, of a type we haven’t seen since about a century ago since Labour supplanted the Liberals as the challengers on the centre left. And I think something similar is happening on the right.”
Streeting described Farage as a “Marmite” politician, and insisted he should face more scrutiny in the years ahead as he tries to present himself as the PM in waiting.
The health secretary pointed to the backlash to Reform UK’s new manifesto, as The Economist suggested there was a shortfall of £100bn in its spending plans.
He added: “One of the reasons why we lost on Brexit is we fought on the battle of minds. The Leave campaign was fighting a battle of hearts.”
The minister said Brits keeps telling politicians at elections that the UK is a “relatively poor country with some rich people living in it” – and it is the responsibility of the left and centre-left to offer “hope built on a plan”.
However, he insisted that Farage’s rising popularity and victories in the local elections had not influenced Labour’s promise to reduce migration.
He said: “The idea that we’ve done this in response to Nigel Farage is just ridiculous.
“We’re doing it in response to the fact that net migration is currently running at over 700,000 in our country, and under our predecessors it was even higher at one point. There’s a genuine problem that needs to be addressed here.”
Responding to Streeting’s remarks, a Reform UK spokesman told HuffPost UK:
“Wes Streeting is saying what the country knows. Reform UK are now the official opposition and the only party able to beat Labour at the next general election. A vote for anyone other than Reform is a wasted vote.”
Matt Forde’s West End The Political Party residency continues with Kemi Badenoch on 9th June and Michael Gove on 14th July. More info and tickets at mattforde.com.