Streeting did not mention Sir Keir by name in his speech at the Institute for Government (IFG) annual conference – but his remarks will be interpreted as a shot across the PM’s bows, amid continued speculation that the health secretary is preparing to mount a leadership challenge.
He said: “We are not simply at the mercy of forces outside of our control. Our fortunes are in our hands.
“And it is precisely because we on centre-left believe in the power of the state to transform people’s lives, that we are best placed to change it.”
He added: “Where there aren’t levers, we build them. Where there are barriers, we bulldoze them. Where there is poor performance, we challenge it.”
He said reform of public services was “one of the greatest challenges of our age”.
“Failure in this area has led to disaffection, cynicism, and ultimately the rise of populists,” he added.
He expanded on the theme in a Q&A with journalists, warning that “giving the public this sense that you elect people to do things and change things and then say ‘actually I don’t think we have got any agency to do that’ – well then why bother? Why bother voting?”
This was a “really bad place for a democracy to be”, he argued, adding that the answer was for the government to “assert ourselves confidently with the right set of values”.
His comments were echoed by Dame Louise Casey, who was last year brought in by Sir Keir to drive through his “plan for change” as the government’s lead non-executive director.
She told the IFG conference the government needed to “just stop” complaining about how difficult it was to change things and urged civil servants to adopt a “grip it and fix it” culture instead.
