Labour minister caught out on GB News in embarrassing Starmer slip: ‘Time for change!’

The Labour politician was blindsided by the interaction.

Wes Streeting was challenged about Keir Starmer on GB News (Image: GB News)

Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Wes Streeting was skewered by GB News host Stephen Dixon after he had reeled off the work he has done to improve the NHS. Speaking to the Labour MP via video link, the unimpressed presenter challenged him, saying: “But you know…how to play the game, if you like. And there’s no, there’s no denial that the government’s failing. But you point out and back it up with facts that the department you’re heading is doing comparatively well, isn’t that basically saying, look, it’s time for a change, and you need someone who can succeed in the top job.”

A somewhat thrown Streeting leapt to the defence of Keir Starmer as he responded: “The Prime Minister has got an extremely difficult job, because he’s got not just the challenges of the NHS to worry about. He’s got to worry about every part of the job – Government and Public Services… He’s got to worry about the economy, and not just the health of the public finances, but the nation’s finances, families, businesses, and he’s got to try and drive improvement in this country against the backdrop of what has been, even by a historic standard, an extremely volatile, dangerous and changing backdrop,” he insisted.

Continuing his defence of Starmer he said: “This is a guy who goes abroad delivers for this country abroad, not just in terms of foreign policy, but the actions he takes and the leadership he shows abroad.

“(He’s) delivering here at home – ask the workers at Jaguar Land Rover or the ship builders on the Clyde or in Barrow.

“The things that he’s negotiated abroad have delivered jobs and security for us here at home,” he said, “and the Prime Minister if he was here would say very much the same thing.

However he did concede mistakes had been made since Labour came to power following hte 2024 General Election.

Stephen Dixon and Ellie Costello skewered a Labour minister on GB News Breakfast (Image: GB News)

“This government has achieved big things in its first 18 months, but there is a lot more to do, and yes, mistakes, we’ve made a few. I dare say we’ll make mistakes in the future too.

“The important thing is that when we make them, we learn from them. That when people point out that we’ve got something wrong, that if we think they’re making the right argument and they’ve got it right, well then we need to put it right.”

“I’d much rather see that approach than the… stubborn refusal to admit, to hold your hands up and say, I’m going to change course. I don’t think that’s a bad thing.

“The worst thing would be if we made mistakes people pointed them out, and we thought, well, we can’t change that now. We want to save our political blushes instead of doing the right thing.”