Shadow health secretary hails 'brilliant' Milton Keynes parliamentary candidates

The shadow health secretary has praised the Labour Party’s Parliamentary candidates for Milton Keynes seats.

Speaking at Milton Keynes Hospital yesterday (21 February), the senior Labour politician, Wes Streeting, was full of praise for Emily Darlington and Chris Curtis, they will be campaigning to be elected in Milton Keynes Central and Milton Keynes North respectively.

Mr Streeting visited Milton Keynes to see the hospital’s new cancer centre and discuss the ways he believes a Labour Government could revive the NHS, from what he describes as its “worst crisis”.

In response to asking how long he believes it would take for NHS services improve under a new Government, the 41-year-old said: “I think we can say that by the end of a first term of a Labour Government we would want to be hitting those basic performance standards of making sure when people dial 999 and call for an ambulance it reaches them in the time we expect it to.

“Or people when they come to A&E they are not waiting, 12 or even 24 hours, as we’re seeing in some cases. But they are being seen in the four-hour standard that the NHS sets. But I’m realistic about the fact that to get the NHS where I would want it to be, which is not just back on its feet, but looking more like a modern 21st century health system, that is going to take a decade of national renewal and that is why Labour is being very careful about the promises we make.

"We know that if there is one thing that is in even shorter supply than money it is: trust in politics and politicians. I want to come back to Milton Keynes at the end of the first term of a Labour Government and say re-elect Emily and re-elect Chris, because not only have they been hardworking champions for Milton Keynes we have delivered what we promised.

"I think people have hopefully seen, that in the last four years, Keir Starmer has changed the Labour Party. It is not the same Labour Party that was rejected in 2019. And we’ve got a really strong team and got two brilliant candidates here in Milton Keynes. People who really understand the communities that they want to represent because of their deep routes in Milton Keynes.”

Ms Darlington serves as a councillor and cabinet member for the city council, while Mr Curtis was born, and grew up, in MK.

Mr Streeting added: “People in Milton Keynes have been returning Conservative MPs election after election for some time now. And really, what has it delivered for Milton Keynes?

"I ask people to ask themselves is there anything that is working better now in Milton Keynes than when they first voted Conservative? Are their families any better off now? Is our country any better off now than when they first started sending MPs to Parliament.

"Let’s give change a chance. You’ve got two candidates who are Milton Keynes through-and-through.”