Wes Streeting has confirmed that he will run to replace Keir Starmer as prime minister if a leadership contest is triggered, and called for a “proper contest” to be held for the role.

Speaking at a conference organised by the thinktank Progress on Saturday, Streeting confirmed he would enter any possible leadership race, outlining his belief that the UK needed to pursue a “new special relationship” with the EU, signalling that he wanted to see the country rejoin the trade bloc in the future.

Streeting also used the speech to criticise what he described as Keir Starmer’s “heavy-handed” leadership culture, which he claimed had stifled creative policy thinking in government.

The former health secretary questioned the effectiveness of Labour’s first two years in power – all of which he has spent in cabinet – saying Labour “arrived in government underprepared in too many areas and lacking clarity of vision and direction”.

Streeting described Starmer’s proposed winter fuel cut – one of the most unpopular policies in the government’s term so far – as a “catastrophe” and said the party had not had a true debate about its directions since the Corbyn era.

He said: “The moral emergency of antisemitism in our party left little room for intellectual renewal or policy debate on the centre-left. We then had a dishonest leadership contest, followed by an overcautiousness in opposition.

“Interesting policy ideas couldn’t be floated because we were too afraid of what the Tories might say, so we said nothing. Instead of a willingness to challenge ideas and kick the tyres, debate was viewed as division and shut down.”

He added: “We’ve carried this culture into government, with a heavy-handed approach that has seen backbenchers scolded for interesting private members’ bills which weren’t the government’s policy – like banning smartphones in schools.

“That’s why we need a proper contest where all candidates can put their best foot forward. It’s got to be a battle of ideas so that whoever wins comes out stronger for it.”

Streeting said Britain should rejoin the EU, describing Brexit as a “a catastrophic mistake” and suggested a closer relationship to Europe would help “rebuild our economy and trade, and improve our defence against the shared threats from Russian aggression and America First”.

He also warned that Labour needed to “not get dragged off by the siren voices that say to win the next general election we need to try and ‘out Reform’ Reform or ‘out Green’ the Greens”, and criticised the spread of misinformation online. He said the country had “chosen to hand the pen to tech moguls in Silicon Valley to write our future for us. It’s time to take the pen back.”

“What we’ve experienced in our country in recent months is a type of racism we haven’t seen on our streets since the 1970s and 80s,” said Streeting. “Our country’s flags flown from lamp-posts and flyovers, not as a symbol of national pride, but as a symbol of division: a message that those flags belong to people who look like me and not people who look like our mayor of London.”

While addressing the Unite the Kingdom march organised by Tommy Robinson, which took place in London the same day, Streeting also claimed that when a similar march was organised in 2025 “ministers were sent out by No 10 with a media script to explain the march, rather than condemn it”.

Streeting’s intervention comes a day after Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, was cleared by Labour’s national executive committee to stand in the forthcoming byelection in Makerfield.

Should Burnham return to Westminster he is perceived by many as Streeting’s biggest competition for the leadership, though Streeting said he would join the campaign in Makerfield, saying he would “be out there going door-knocking day after day to help get him (Burnham) elected”.

Streeting also said he would have more than enough support from his Labour peers in parliament, but said a leadership contest conducted before Burnham was able to participate would “lack legitimacy”, insisting “a proper contest with the best candidates on the field” is best for the country.

In an apparent offer to debate with Burnham and others, Streeting said: “Change begins with an argument. You don’t make progress without one. That’s why this week, I called for a battle of ideas, not personalities.”