One of the most significant trends in UK Defence, and within the Ministry of Defence in particular, has been learning the lessons from Ukraine. Ukraine’s new Commander-in-Chief, Major General Mykhailo Drapaty, stated “An army where no one is responsible for a defeat is dying from within.” These lessons of responsibility and accountability will be key for Wes Streeting as he enters a department not at war, but also not at peace.
Wes Streeting began his career in student politics, serving as National Union of Students President between 2008 and 2010. Upon graduating, he worked at Stonewall, led the Helena Kennedy Foundation, and eventually ran a campaigns consultancy.
He was elected to Redbridge Council in 2010 and became Deputy Leader of the Council in 2014. In 2015 he was elected MP for Ilford North. Streeting then served on the Treasury Select Committee before joining Keir Starmer’s frontbench in 2020 as Shadow Exchequer Secretary in the Treasury. He later became Shadow Health Secretary and, following Labour’s victory in 2024, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. He was appointed Secretary of State for Defence on 20 of July 2026.
Streeting’s defence record is limited but aligns with the mainstream Labour Party’s position on most accounts. He has consistently supported Western backing for Ukraine and argued for credible security guarantees to enable a lasting peace. He also agreed with the Government that the US is the UK’s strongest ally.
Speaking beyond the core Labour Party defence rhetoric, Streeting also argued that the lack of intervention in Syria following the regime’s use of chemical weapons preserved Assad’s rule and allowed Russia to fill the resulting vacuum. Furthermore, Streeting strongly opposed the 2003 Iraq War, which he has cited as a warning against allowing Britain’s relationship with the United States to override independent strategic judgement. Despite not being in Parliament at the time of the invasion, he briefly left the Labour Party over the war.
Entering this new role, Streeting has experience leading a major spending department and negotiating with the Treasury from his time as Secretary of State for Health and Social Care. However, it is clear that he enters the Ministry of Defence without specialist defence or military expertise.
Streeting’s predecessor (once removed), John Healey, created a reformed defence department with named figures in charge of the most challenging parts of defence: procurement, investment, readiness and operations. This increased accountability by placing failure at the feet of key figures, rather than leaving it dispersed across the department. For Streeting this means a department that knows exactly what powers they have and what they can ask of him.
As such, Streeting inherits an unforgiving department (and industry) that will ask him to take ultimate responsibility for the UK’s ability to defend itself. In an era where cuts have weakened deterrence, but where its importance is rising, the UK’s ability to project strength and credibility is paramount. This credibility comes not only from the kit the UK military has, but also from leadership, and the funding it can obtain.
A Secretary of State for Defence who will undoubtedly put it all on the line to protect Britain’s Armed Forces is a significant contribution to deterrence. As we have once again seen from Ukraine, morale is a force multiplier.
In the aftermath of a Defence Investment Plan that has raised serious questions about where the spending increase will be drawn from, Streeting must develop personal credibility and fast. As Defence Secretary, the responsibility for communicating how to ensure British national security, and the increase expenditure needed to do so, ultimately falls to him. Streeting’s lack of history with defence presents credible concerns as to whether he understands the needs of the UK Armed Forces and the threats the UK faces – never mind his capacity to communicate with the Treasury how these existential challenges should be addressed.
Without a history in the sector, and following in the footsteps of a veteran Secretary of State and ministers so impassioned about defence that they resigned over a lack of spending, Streeting is in a tenuous position. Both the department and the wider defence industry are pushing for quicker innovation and a strong champion for their cause. Healey and Jarvis enacted an industry wide Strategic Defence Review, a National Security Strategy, a Defence Industrial Strategy and a Defence Investment Plan alongside the often referred to ‘biggest sustained increase in defence spending since the Cold War’ all to win the departments and industry’s favour. In this context, Streeting will have to work hard to gain their trust, if their support has not already been lost.