Streeting

Labour should also drill for oil and gas in North Sea, says former health secretary and leadership candidateWes Streeting has called for national insurance tax cuts for businesses, and for the government to drill for oil and gas in the North Sea.The former health secretary and Labour leadership candidate told the Sunday Times there should be a “targeted reduction” of employers’ national insurance contribution as a way to “actively incentivise” hiring, particularly of young people. Continue reading...

Former health secretary says he unsuccessfully argued for tougher action when in cabinetGood morning. The government has been consulting on whether to follow Australia and impose a ban on social media for under-16s, or whether to opt for other restrictions, and the consultation ends at 11.59pm tonight. Keir Starmer is expected to announce the government’s response soon afterwards. He has already said that there will be action of some sort. Last year ministers were sceptical about following the Australian example, but this is an issue where opinion – both in government, and in society more broadly – has been shifting very quickly.This morning Wes Streeting, the former health secretary who is running what is in effect a leadership campaign, has intervened. As the Guardian reports, he has said that a social media ban for under-16s “must be the start, not the end” and he has compared the sector to the tobacco industry.Streeting restated his claim that social media is like the tobacco industry and suggested that, just as tobacco bosses did in the mid-20th century, social media executives have been suppressing evidence about the full extent of the harm caused by their products. He said:What we’ve seen from Big Tech is behaviour akin to Big Tobacco … We know from whistleblowers that in the tech industry, among those who are responsible for designing technology, including social media platforms, that are changing every aspect of our lives, they know that the product they’re designing is addictive, they know that it is harmful, and the business model is orientated towards getting kids while they’re young, addicting them with the design features that are designed for addiction, to grab your attention and keep you on their platform for as long as possible.He said there was a “growing body of evidence” about the ways in which social media is harmful.And then we see the consequences beginning to emerge through the growing body of evidence about the impact of this technology on childhood, whether that is sleep, concentration, learning, health, wellbeing, including mental health.The harms are evident.He claimed governmments around the world had been “asleep at the wheel” on this issue. “Frankly, legislators, regulators, have been asleep at the wheel on this,” he said.He suggested that Keir Starmer had been “behind the curve” on this issue. While he was not overly criticial of the PM on this issue, suggesting that governments around the world have been slow to confront social media companies on this issue, he made it clear that he thought the Starmer government could have acted more quickly. He said that he was speaking out now because he was “liberated from the obligations of collective responsibility”. He said the arguments he was making in public today were the ones he was making privately in government, “in a number of cabinet committees and meetings”, and that he “pushed as hard as I could”. He said the government was now moving to a “better position”, but he suggested Starmer could have acted more quickly.To be fair to Liz Kendall, the science and technology secretary, she came into office [in September last year], she’s gripped this, she’s chosen to run a rapid consultation with the principle of how to implement restrictions, rather than whether. That’s all positive. And I trust Liz Kendall to act quickly following the closure of the consultation today.And we must, because, as I say, we’re behind the curve. Continue reading...

Former health secretary’s intervention comes as government closes consultation on age limits for social media platformsSocial media companies should be treated like the tobacco industry, Wes Streeting has argued, as he called for a ban on under-16s accessing certain platforms.Speaking publicly about the prospect of a ban for the first time since he left government, the former health secretary said one was needed because large technology companies were trying to dodge regulations. Continue reading...

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In interview with Guardian, former health secretary sets out plans for government, including social care, tax and refugeesWes Streeting has insisted he can win over the Labour left, as he launches a shadow campaign for the party leadership, saying he has “beaten the odds” throughout his life and can do so again.The former health secretary, who called on Keir Starmer to resign as he quit the cabinet last week, warned Labour MPs that drifting on with Starmer in charge risked a Joe Biden situation that would usher in a Reform government. Continue reading...

MP says current system is unfair and his idea would result in a ‘wealth tax that works’UK politics live – latest updatesFormer health secretary Wes Streeting has set out plans for a “wealth tax that works”, by equalising tax on assets and income.Streeting said the current system – in which capital gains tax is generally much lower than income tax – was not fair and penalised work, arguing the taxes should be equalised. Continue reading...

Treasury’s Lucy Rigby says Rachel Reeves introduced measures in her first budget as Streeting calls for capital gains rates to be aligned with income taxGood morning. It’s a big day for Rachel Reeves, the chancellor. In a Commons statement, she is announcing a series of measures to help people with the cost of living. She wants people to enjoy a “Great British summer”, she says. Reeves’s plan for what makes for a good summer is not quite the same as Samantha Niblett’s; the chancellor is talking about free bus travel for children, as Heather Stewart, Peter Walker and Sarah Butler report in their preview.Reeves is speaking after 11.30am.We already tax wealth in this country. The chancellor introduced a host of measures in her first budget, and then further measures in the last budget as well, that try and make sure that tax is as progressive and fair as possible. Continue reading...