Wes Streeting is convincing, but where’s his plan?

This Labour conference has largely been about Keir Starmer and his ministers making the argument for what they are doing, rather than giving any details of how they plan to achieve it. Wes Streeting’s speech to the hall in Liverpool this morning fitted that pattern. He didn’t announce anything new. Instead, he set out quite how big the challenge was, and made the argument for what Labour planned to do. He told members:

We can only deliver recovery through reform. Without action on prevention, the NHS will be overwhelmed. Without reform to services, we’ll end up putting in more cash for poorer results. That’s the choice. Reform or die. We choose reform.

As with Starmer’s speech yesterday, there were passages in the Health Secretary’s address which were designed to push Labour members out of their comfort zone. Streeting insisted that there would be no change to the founding principles of the NHS, but took on those who argue Labour is just going for ‘privatisation by the back door’.