Wes Streeting accused of dog whistle politics over campaign letter
A letter signed by British Health Secretary Wes Streeting and sent to residents of his East London constituency has been condemned for accusing independent candidates of being "divisive" and "more focused on foreign conflicts than on fixing potholes".
Middle East Eye has seen multiple copies of the letter, dated Wednesday 18 March, which is addressed from Streeting and is marked as being sent by Redbridge Labour, the party's local chapter.
They were distributed among constituents in Streeting's seat Ilford North ahead of local elections in May, which will prove a crucial test for the UK's Labour government.
MEE asked Streeting's office whether he recognised the letter and wanted to comment, but did not receive a response.
Streeting, widely considered a leading contender to replace Keir Starmer as prime minister if he resigns or is forced out, came close to losing his seat at the 2024 election to the then-23-year-old British Palestinian independent candidate, Leanne Mohamad.
Labour councillors in Redbridge face a major challenge in the upcoming local elections from the Redbridge Independent party, which has been backed by Your Party leader Jeremy Corbyn, who used to lead the Labour Party.
John McDonnell, a Labour MP and former shadow chancellor, told MEE: "Whichever political adviser drafted this letter needs to think hard about how the reference to 'a party that aims to represent only some of us, more focused on foreign affairs' could be interpreted."
McDonnell said that "one interpretation verges on a Reform [style] dog whistle politics. The last thing we need is more divisive politics in these elections."
Another Labour MP, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told MEE: "There are two Wes Streetings. There is the Wes who appears in the media - thoughtful, emollient, even jolly. And then there is the real Wes, behind the facade.
"This letter reveals the other side. A man who will happily smear and besmirch his political opponents without hesitation. Many of us in the PLP (Parliamentary Labour Party) have seen what lies beneath when the mask slips: ruthless, naked ambition."
'More focused on foreign conflicts'
The letter signed by Streeting says: "At the last General Election, only 528 votes separated Ilford North from an Independent MP, bringing with them a brand of politics that didn't aim to bring our community together, but worked to tear it apart."
It continues: "To be blunt, at this May's local election you have a simple choice between Labour and the Jeremy Corbyn endorsed Ilford Independents [understood to refer to the Redbridge Independents].
"I'm writing to ask you to lend your vote to Labour to keep this brand of divisive politics out of our community and stop our Borough becoming a rotten Borough like Tower Hamlets."
A "rotten borough" is an 18th-century term used to refer to a seat whose politics is dominated by corruption and a system of patronage.
The mayor of Tower Hamlets, another area of East London, is the independent British Muslim politician Lutfur Rahman, who has similarly been accused of sectarianism.
The letter signed by Streeting accuses the Redbridge Independents of being "a divisive political party that aims to only represent some of us, more focused on foreign conflicts than on fixing potholes".
It continues: "By lending Labour your vote, you're standing up to keep Redbridge the place that its always been, where people aren't concerned with where you came from or what God you pray to, only what kind of neighbour you are."
This messaging comes after Labour lost a by-election in the Greater Manchester seat of Gorton and Denton last month to the Green Party, after which Prime Minister Keir Starmer accused the Greens of engaging in "sectarian" politics - an accusation the party condemned as false.
'We are not a single-issue party'
Leanne Mohamad, who stood against Streeting in 2024, told MEE: "Residents here are dealing with the cost of living, a high street that is visibly struggling, and public services that are stretched.
"Wes Streeting is the health secretary. The NHS is in crisis. What has he done? He has spent his energy positioning for a Labour leadership race, texting a disgraced peer, and writing scare letters about potholes."
'Streeting has spent his energy positioning for a Labour leadership race, texting a disgraced peer, and writing scare letters about pothole'
- Leanne Mohamad, Ilford North candidate
Last month, Streeting released messages between him and Peter Mandelson, the now-disgraced former British ambassador to the US, who was a close confidant of the paedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
Multiple Labour sources have told MEE that Streeting had long been a politician Mandelson saw as being "prime minister material".
"The cabinet and wider party are littered with the carcasses of those unfortunate enough to have stood in Wes's way," the Labour MP who spoke to MEE said.
"There is a reason Tony Blair, Peter Mandelson and Morgan McSweeney always wanted Wes Streeting as leader. They recognised in him the same ruthless ambition they themselves possessed and knew it could be harnessed for their political project."
In the released messages to Mandelson, Streeting, a member of the Labour Friends of Israel group who has taken money from pro-Israel donors, told him that Israel was "committing war crimes before our eyes".
The health secretary, who has since said he was "disgusted" by Mandelson's relationship with Epstein, said in the messages that Israel was behaving like a "rogue state" and that the Israeli government "talks the language of ethnic cleansing".
Vaseem Ahmed, the leader of the Redbridge Independents, said: "By attacking a dedicated and diverse group of local residents seeking real change, Wes Streeting has made it clear that Labour stands only for vested interests and cannot tolerate genuine community voices.
"As he knows, we are not a single-issue party," Ahmed said, adding that his party holds Labour "accountable for complicity in the Gaza genocide".
'He just didn't say it to us'
The messages between Streeting and Mandelson also revealed that the health secretary feared becoming "toast at the next election" in his Ilford North seat.
"He had all of that to say in private. In public, he sends letters to constituents telling them the real threat to Redbridge is us," Mohamad said.
"He claims this community doesn't want politics 'focused on foreign conflicts'. But it was Streeting himself who privately told Mandelson that Israel was 'committing war crimes before our eyes' and engaging in 'rogue state behaviour.' He knew. He said it. He just didn't say it to us."
Streeting reportedly said at an event in East London on Wednesday that Nigel Farage's Reform UK was driving a "tide of racism" and had become an "existential threat" to the country.
"They have the audacity to dress up nationalism as patriotism and claim that they are the party for the working man and woman at the same time," Streeting said.
"They are an affront to this country, its history, its heritage, its values and its National Health Service."
Earlier this month at a Ramadan event in parliament, Streeting criticised attempts to "delegitimise Muslim voters" following the Gorton and Denton byelection.
He said: "We’ve even seen, in recent days - as Muslims have upheld British values, gone to the ballot box and cast their votes, taking part in democracy - attempts to delegitimise them, to suggest that their votes and their voices count less than others."
The comments were seen as distancing himself from Starmer's accusation that the Green Party was pursuing "sectarian" politics.
This article was sourced from Middle East Eye.
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