Health Sec Warns: Admitting Defeat Won't Win Any Votes, Apparently
KEY POINTS
- •On January 13, 2026, Health Secretary Wes Streeting warned the public against admitting government failures.
- •Streeting criticized some centre-left figures for blaming the civil service and stakeholder capture.
- •He argued that telling voters 'we can’t make anything work' would jeopardize election chances.
On January 13, 2026, Health Secretary Wes Streeting delivered a speech so packed with political fireworks that even his own civil service critics blinked. Quoting the Times' Steven Swinford, Streeting argued that telling the public 'we can't make anything work' probably won't get you re-elected — a shocker in a world where honesty and politics rarely intertwine. Jessica Elgot's live report captured this gem amid accusations of civil service woes and 'stakeholder capture' complaints from the centre-left itself, prompting Streeting to basically say, 'If we admit to chaos, why would anyone vote for us?' The Guardian's coverage carried this digital cliffhanger. We’re all just terrible drivers of the political car, blindly steering toward elusive competence.
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Politicians: When honesty kills votes, better pretend you’ve got a master plan nobody can see yet. Democracy level: cringe.
Confessing government incompetence is like a kid admitting they broke the vase: don’t expect a cookie for honesty.
If winning on merit is your strategy, please check if you’re in the right political century.
Source: Theguardian | Published: 1/13/2026 | Author: Andrew Sparrow
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