Labour’s Wes Streeting: ‘Reform is not a Conservative word’

Exclusive: the shadow health secretary discusses his plans for the NHS, not becoming the fun police, and Tories’ handling of strikesWes Streeting turns 40 this weekend, so he has been steering clear of the debate on whether cake should be allowed in the workplace. “You’ve caught me red-handed,” the shadow health secretary laughs. “Tom in my office has brought in shortbread for my birthday.”Instead, he has spent much of the week defending plans for NHS reform, with many on the left concerned they will lead to more privatisation. “Keir Starmer has joined the right in calling for ‘reform’ of the NHS,” the veteran leftwinger Diane Abbott tweeted. “We all know what that means.”