Wes Streeting facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Wes Streeting
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Official portrait, 2024
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| Secretary of State for Health and Social Care | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assumed office 5 July 2024 |
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| Prime Minister | Keir Starmer | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Preceded by | Victoria Atkins | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Member of Parliament for Ilford North |
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| Assumed office 7 May 2015 |
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| Preceded by | Lee Scott | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Majority | 528 (1.1%) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Member of Redbridge London Borough Council for Aldborough Chadwell (2010–2014) |
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| In office 8 July 2010 – 3 May 2018 |
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| 53rd President of the National Union of Students | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| In office 1 July 2008 – 10 June 2010 |
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| Preceded by | Gemma Tumelty | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Succeeded by | Aaron Porter | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal details | |||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born |
Wesley Paul William Streeting
21 January 1983 Stepney, London, England |
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| Political party | Labour | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Domestic partner | Joe Dancey | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Residence | London Borough of Redbridge | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Alma mater | Selwyn College, Cambridge | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Signature |  |
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Wesley Paul William Streeting (born 21 January 1983) is a British politician. He has been the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care since July 2024. He is a member of the Labour Party. Since 2015, he has been the Member of Parliament (MP) for Ilford North.
Wes Streeting grew up in Stepney, London, and went to Westminster City School. He studied history at the University of Cambridge. He was the President of the Cambridge Students' Union from 2004 to 2005. Later, he led the National Union of Students (NUS) from 2008 to 2010.
In 2010, he was elected to the Redbridge London Borough Council for the Labour Party. He became the Deputy Leader of the council in May 2014. Streeting was elected as an MP for Ilford North in the 2015 general election. He was re-elected in 2017 and 2019.
After Keir Starmer became the Labour Party leader in 2020, Streeting joined the team that helps lead the party. He became the Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in November 2021. This role meant he was the main spokesperson for health for the Labour Party. After Labour won the 2024 general election, Streeting became the official Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. He has said the NHS needs fixing and wants to solve doctor strikes and reduce waiting times.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Wesley Streeting was born on 21 January 1983 in Stepney, London. His parents were teenagers when he was born. He has five brothers, a sister, and a stepsister. His grandfathers, both named Bill, were important figures in his childhood. One grandfather was very well-read and enjoyed discussing politics. His other grandfather served in the Second World War in the Royal Navy.
Streeting grew up living in a council flat. He went to Westminster City School, a state school in Victoria, London. He then studied history at Selwyn College, Cambridge, and finished his degree in 2004. He briefly left the Labour Party because he disagreed with the decision to enter the Iraq War.
While at university, he was elected President of the Cambridge Students' Union for the 2004–05 school year. In this role, he worked to prevent the closure of Cambridge University's architecture department.
Early Career and Student Leadership
Leading the National Union of Students
From 2008 to 2010, Wes Streeting was the President of the National Union of Students (NUS). This is a big organization that represents students across the UK. As president, he supported changes to how the NUS was run. He also supported university tuition fees, which was the government's policy at the time.
After his time at NUS, Streeting worked for the Helena Kennedy Foundation. This charity helps students from further education colleges go on to higher education. He also worked for Stonewall, a charity that supports lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights. At Stonewall, he led a campaign called "Education for All."
Council Career
Serving Redbridge Council
In July 2010, Wes Streeting was elected as a Labour councillor for the Chadwell area in the Redbridge London Borough Council. He had tried to get elected for a different area two months earlier but was not successful. In October 2011, he became the Deputy Leader of the Labour Group on the council.
In May 2014, the Labour Party gained control of Redbridge Council for the first time. Streeting was then made the Deputy Leader of the council. He promised that the council would not reduce financial support for low-income residents. However, the council later did reduce this support.
Streeting resigned as Deputy Leader in May 2015 after he was elected as a Member of Parliament. He continued to be a councillor but did not claim his allowance. He stopped being a councillor in May 2018.
Parliamentary Career
Member of Parliament for Ilford North
In the 2015 general election, Wes Streeting was elected as the MP for Ilford North. He won with 43.9% of the votes. After becoming an MP, he was made the Honorary President of the British Youth Council.
Streeting supported the United Kingdom staying in the European Union during the 2016 EU membership referendum. He later campaigned for a "People's Vote," which would have allowed the public to vote on the final Brexit deal.
He was re-elected as MP for Ilford North in the 2017 general election with more votes. He is involved in groups that work against Islamophobia and Antisemitism. He also supports groups related to British Jews and Palestinians.
In the 2019 general election, Streeting was re-elected again. After Labour lost the general election, he supported Jess Phillips and Rosena Allin-Khan in the party's leadership elections.
Frontbench Roles
After Keir Starmer became the leader of the Labour Party, Streeting was appointed to a frontbench role as Shadow Exchequer Secretary to the Treasury in April 2020. This meant he was part of the team that challenges the government's financial plans.
In October 2020, he became the Shadow Minister for Schools. In May 2021, he joined the Shadow Cabinet as Shadow Secretary of State for Child Poverty. He was then promoted to Shadow Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in November 2021. In this role, he was the main Labour spokesperson on health matters.
In February 2022, Streeting was chosen again to be the Labour candidate for Ilford North in the next general election. He was seen as an important member of the shadow cabinet. In January 2024, he supported having separate wards in hospitals for men and women, with the possibility of separate wards for transgender people in the future. He also welcomed a report called the Cass Review, which looked at health services for transgender children and young people. He said the report should help improve these services.
In the 2024 general election, Streeting won his Ilford North seat by a small number of votes. This was after a challenge from an independent candidate who disagreed with Labour's stance on the Israel-Hamas war.
Health Secretary
In July 2024, Wes Streeting was appointed Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. This is a very important job, as he is now in charge of the NHS and social care in the UK. He became a member of the Privy Council on 10 July 2024.
He has stated that the NHS needs fixing. He promised to resolve the strikes by junior doctors and to reduce waiting times for patients. New talks with the Labour government helped end the dispute with junior doctors in September. In November 2024, Streeting warned that hospitals that are not performing well will be named publicly. Managers of these hospitals could be removed from their jobs.
Political Views
Streeting supports devolution, which means giving local authorities more control over local services and decisions.
European Union and Immigration
Streeting supported the UK staying in the European Union (EU) before the 2016 referendum. He later said that leaving the EU completely would cause economic harm. On immigration, Streeting has said that while the UK needs to train its own people, it also needs to attract people from other countries. This is especially true because the UK has an aging population and fewer people of working age.
NHS Views
Regarding the NHS, Streeting said in December 2021 that to reduce waiting times, staff need better pay and working conditions. He also believes in keeping an eye on the high salaries of managers and consultants. After visiting Israel in May 2022, he suggested that the UK should use new technologies in healthcare, similar to those used in Israel, to improve patient care.
In January 2022, Streeting said he supported using private healthcare providers within the NHS to help cut down waiting lists. In June 2023, he explained that the NHS needs three big changes:
- Move from focusing mainly on hospitals to more local and community services.
- Update from old systems to new technology.
- Shift from treating sickness to preventing it.
Personal Life
Wes Streeting lives in Redbridge, London, with Joe Dancey. Joe Dancey works as an adviser in communications. They have been engaged since 2013.
In May 2021, Streeting shared that he had been diagnosed with kidney cancer. He had to step back from his political work to get treatment. Luckily, the cancer was found early, and he had surgery to remove one of his kidneys. On 27 July 2021, Streeting announced that he was cancer-free.
Streeting wrote a book about his life called One Boy, Two Bills and a Fry-Up, which was published in June 2023. The book received mostly good reviews. He was sworn into the Privy Council on 10 July 2024.
Images for kids
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Streeting with an RMT union banner at a protest in March 2015
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Streeting (left) at a cabinet meeting with David Lammy and Rachel Reeves, 9 July 2024
