Wes Streeting is the shadow health secretary who enjoys a pint and the media-savvy interviewee who once forgot a key policy while on air.
But when has a politician been without contradiction?
The Labour frontbencher has risen quickly since his first election less than a decade ago and could be set for a top job if his party wins the general election on July 4.
A cabinet role would be quite the achievement for the lifelong East Ender, who grew up in poverty in a single-parent family, with his grandparents having done time.
But it is unlikely the ambitions of the 41-year-old would stop there, with many tipping Mr Streeting to go all the way to Number 10.
This is his story so far.
Who is Wes Streeting?
Until the election was called, putting a freeze on official titles, Wes Streeting was Labour MP for Ilford North and the shadow health secretary.
Born in 1983 to teenage parents, Mr Streeting was raised in poverty in a council flat in Stepney, east London.
“This wasn’t a nice place to live,” he told the Guardian upon his return to the area.
“I spent most of my childhood thinking I wanted to escape.”
Mr Streeting’s maternal grandparents both spent time in prison, and he described his paternal grandfather, a Second World War veteran, as a “traditional, working class Tory”. Much of his early life is documented in his memoir One Boy, Two Bills and a Fry Up - published last year.
He did not inherit his grandad’s views but his humble start in life did influence his values, so he joined the Labour Party while at the University of Cambridge in the early 2000s - briefly leaving in opposition to Tony Blair’s stance on the Iraq war.
Commentators have suggested Mr Streeting is central in ideology within Labour. His background has seen him act as president of the National Union of Students and also act on LGBT causes, having come out as gay while at university.
He is engaged to Labour worker Joe Dancey but has said his sexuality has been troublesome in navigating his Anglican faith.
“My faith was a really big obstacle to accepting myself,” he told the Financial Times. “It meant I didn’t come out until my second year at university, and it was largely faith that made that process very difficult. I spent many years choosing not to be gay. It was oppressive; it was like a straitjacket.”
In 2021, Mr Streeting was diagnosed with kidney cancer but following the removal of one of the organs, he has been cancer-free for nearly three years.
How long has Wes Streeting been an MP?
Mr Streeting took a rare Labour coup in 2015 when he won Ilford North from the Tories - and has defended the east London seat in the 2017 and 2019 elections.
He has a 5,198 majority and considering the latest national polls, he will be expecting to comfortably get back in come July 4.
He said on his official page: “I speak my mind and stand up for Ilford North. You won’t always agree with me (you should never trust politicians who only ever tell you what you want to hear), but you’ll always know where I stand.
“I know that there’s lots of cynicism about politics and politicians and I understand why. I hope that I repay the faith that people placed in me when they voted for me over successive elections and I also hope to earn the trust and respect of those who didn’t vote for me.”
Which roles has Wes Streeting held?
Since 2015, Mr Streeting has been shadow secretary to the treasury, shadow schools minister, shadow secretary for child poverty and is now shadow health secretary.
But he makes no secret of his ambitions.
“I’ve never been ashamed of aiming high and going as far as my talents will take me,” he told the Guardian.
“I’m in politics to get things done. I want to change things for the better, and where better to do that than being head of the cabinet? Prime ministers have huge power, so why would you not want to do that job?”
Controversies
In failing to name all of Labour’s six election pledges during an appearance on BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg, Mr Streeting caused a shock - but only because he is usually an assured performer on camera.
As health secretary, he has also irked Labour purists in defending a plan to use the private sector to cut the NHS backlog.
"His refusal to back nurses' demands for fair wages or a public NHS free from private-sector involvement fly in the face of public opinion and Labour's own mission and history," said Momentum's co-chair Hilary Schan in the aftermath.
In response, Mr Streeting said: "Ironically, it is those voices from the left who oppose reform, who prove themselves to be the true conservatives."
Like former health secretary Therese Coffey, Mr Streeting has sometimes expressed a liberal attitude towards his own health.
He told the Guardian: “I’m about to stand up to the boring charge. Now I’m in my 40s, my idea of a great night is in front of the telly. But a great night out is going out with friends and getting absolutely plastered.
“That’s terrible messaging for the shadow health secretary, but I am a binge drinker.”
What has Wes Streeting said about the election?
A lot. Mr Streeting is a trusted Labour representative on television and is also big on social media, regularly posting videos.
He has said NHS dentistry is in a “real state” and in need of reform while he has also championed policies to tackle crime.
On June 8, he tweeted: “Nine years ago today I made my maiden speech.
“Nine years on, the Tories failed the test I laid out back then: our country is more divided at home and more isolated abroad.
“It’s time for change.”
