From NHS windfalls to Tory chess moves and Reform’s rookie misfire—who’s up, who’s down, and who’s stuck in the middle?
Read all about it in this week's Who's Top Who's Not
Top – Wes Streeting
Although all eyes were on the Chancellor at the spending review on Wednesday, it wasn’t Rachel Reeves who came out as the clear winner, but the departments she was opening the coffers for. Step forward Wes Streeting.
The NHS is a go-to for Labour to drum up support for its decisions, and this spending review was no different. With a 3% annual increase, the NHS is getting funding for its digital transition (£10bn by 2029), money to train thousands more doctors and nurses, hundreds of thousands of extra dentist appointments, an additional £4bn for adult social care, and over a billion for research and innovation.
Part of this spending splurge is driven by the government’s mission to bring waiting lists down. Though the spending will be greatly appreciated by Streeting, there are now a lot of eyes on him and his department to deliver and to use the new money wisely. The pressure is on.
Middle – Robert Jenrick
You know something’s afoot when a shadow cabinet minister is getting more media attention than the Leader of the Opposition. That seems to be exactly what’s happening with Robert Jenrick (runner-up at last year’s Conservative leadership election, in case you forgot).
Confronting tube fare dodgers at Stratford station, giving his own verdict on this week’s spending review, and carving out his own stance against Reform’s position on immigration; it feels like he’s trying to position himself against current trends, perhaps even whipping up support from younger Tory members (there are a few, apparently) with his social media focus.
By all accounts, it feels like the early stages of a leadership contest (and it may well be), but by sticking his head above the parapet, Jenrick is playing a dangerous game. He is clearly building a position aligned with the right of the party, but his attempts to distinguish the Conservatives from Reform may alienate the party’s centrist members. Only a few days ago, reports said the Lib Dems were trying to lure those softer Conservatives who feel increasingly disconnected from where their party is heading.
Whether his Machiavellian manoeuvres will ‘favour the bold’ or leave him worse off remains to be seen, but for now, he’s pricking up ears in all kinds of places.
Not – Sarah Pochin
Being a new MP is a pretty tough job. You need to get a grip on how things work (the soft and hard powers in parliament) and how best to use your time and position. It’s harder still if you only have a few friendly MPs from your own party and you sit in opposition. Who’s going to notice you or want to get to know you?
Sarah Pochin, the newly elected Reform MP for Runcorn and Helsby, has only been in the job for a month. But when given the chance to speak at PMQs, she certainly got everyone’s attention by asking Starmer to ban the burka.
Things got worse when Pochin appeared on BBC’s Politics Live, where she tried to defend her point, initially suggesting that terrorists use burkas as disguises, then switching to argue that it was about British culture being eroded. It became increasingly hard to watch when Sarah Owen, Chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group for British Muslims, calmly explained the inaccuracies in Pochin’s claims and the problematic assumptions behind them. Eyerolls all-round.