Who's Top Who's Not: Return of the Health Secretary, good/bad COP and Sue Gray's grand finale
??Top- Alan Milburn
A former Secretary of State from the Blair days, Alan Milburn, has made his way back into the Department of Health and Social Care to support the Government’s agenda for widescale reform to the NHS.
This comes alongside a series of major health announcements from Wes Streeting this week on a ‘sweeping review’ of NHS performance to determine how the ￡22.6 billion extra funding from the budget should be spent.
Milburn’s tenure as Secretary of State for Health was associated with Blair’s modernisation agenda, reducing NHS waiting times whilst improving public satisfaction. The Government’s recent plans to publish hospital league tables as a tough, but necessary, mechanism to deliver a rise in care standards aligns with Milburn’s legacy as an architect of pro-competition health reforms.
Though this has sparked criticism from NHS bosses and staff as a ‘name and shame’ exercise, Milburn has warned the NHS that it is ‘drinking in its last chance saloon’, urging the need for cultural change. Streeting welcomed Milburn’s ‘advice on turning the NHS around once again’ which will be critical to establishing this Government as a credible driver of long-term health transformation.
??Middle- Keir Starmer
COP
Keir Starmer took to the skies once again, this time to Azerbaijan, as one of the only members of the G20 to attend the COP29 summit. The Prime Minister revealed the UK will pledge to cut emissions by 81% compared with 1990 levels by 2035 in line with a recommendation made by the Climate Change Committee, a more ambitious target than under the previous government.
Making Britain a clean energy superpower is one of Labour’s five missions and the government has committed to shifting away from fossil fuels for electricity generation by 2030, expanding offshore wind, and investing in carbon capture and nuclear energy.
The summit was overshadowed by the result of the US election, with world leaders anxious not to be the subject of a Trump takedown on X. Starmer outlined ‘two paths ahead’ on climate change and warned that the ‘path of inaction’ would pose a far greater risk to economic and national insecurity.
It is clear which category president-elect Donald Trump falls into amidst concern that Trump will once again abandon the Paris climate accord. Though Starmer made the right call in positioning Britain as a ‘first mover’ on green investment and cutting emissions, balancing this whilst cultivating the special relationship with Trump will be a tricky tightrope.
??Bottom- Sue Gray
In the latest episode of the Sue Gray saga, Starmer’s former Chief of Staff has sacked off his job offer to be envoy for the nations and regions. Gray was offered her demotion five weeks ago, after her traumatic fall from grace.
Gray took a pass on an inaugural meeting of Starmer’s new Council of the Nations and Regions in Edinburgh the week after being offered her new job, implying a reluctance to ever take the role.
No.10 had previously described the post as ‘vital’ yet have since announced there were ‘no immediate plans’ to appoint a replacement envoy. This was immediately lapped up by the Tories forcing Starmer to bluntly deny it was an invented role in response to Lincoln Jopp MP’s accusation at PMQs. This could become a political problem for Starmer as there is a risk that the nations and regions could now feel excluded and neglected.
A source from Downing Street told the BBC that ‘we think she has made the right decision’, optimistically hoping that the drama may finally be over, but considering the attention and controversy that has surrounded Gray possibly receiving a peerage, will this be her final headline?