Streeting thinks public opinion matters

It’s a day ending in a ‘y’, so you know red Tory Wes Streeting is going to be spouting some tripe about the British Medical Association (BMA) somewhere or other.

The health secretary’s latest desperate gambit is waving around a public opinion poll on the upcoming BMA resident doctors’ strike:

The BMA think their demands are more important than patients.

Unsurprisingly, patients don't agree.

Patients deserve better. The BMA must call off these strikes. pic.twitter.com/XaCPGJ7kaD

— Wes Streeting (@wesstreeting) April 8, 2026

A howling moral vacuum called Streeting

You might think a Labour health secretary like Streeting would devote less of his time to bashing the doctor’s union, but that forgets a crucial detail. Namely, Starmer’s shower of a party wouldn’t know socialist values if they slapped them round the face.

First and foremost, what a bloody disgusting thing to say from Streeting. This swine is trying to frame doctors as not caring about their patients, purely because they won’t stand for years of real-terms pay cuts.

Sure, it’s nice to have public backing for a strike. It’s a pity the public aren’t on-side with the striking workers. However, going ahead with industrial action without public support is a far cry from thinking that patients are unimportant.

Given his utterly shameless display, it’s unsurprising that the health secretary got absolutely cooked on social media. It’s no secret we at the Canary also think Streeting is a howling moral vacuum in the shape of a man – so let’s take a look, shall we?

Threats to the NHS

Some commenters pointed out the this isn’t just about pay restoration – Starmer and his henchman like Streeting have also threatened to take away residents’ training places:

Have you asked the patients if they agree with pulling 1000 training posts?

Or pivoting away from resident doctors (who will be future GPs/consultants)?

You can’t solve a staffing crisis by cutting doctors.

Work with us and both doctors and patients benefit https://t.co/m4ZfuMBNJt

— Dr Melissa Ryan 🦀 (@Melissa_S_Ryan) April 8, 2026

Is there anybody out there who thinks that threatening to take away training is a good call? Labour is threatening the healthcare system itself in an attempt to break the strike here.

Others pointed out that public opinion is likely being swayed by the dire state of the NHS:

No surprise that patients don’t want strikes

Patients want to be seen promptly by doctors – we need funding for more GPs and consultants

Meanwhile @wesstreeting is cutting training posts and planning wholesale doctor substitution with people who aren’t medically trained https://t.co/qpT5WTzaGO

— Dr Asif Qasim MA PhD FRCP (@DrAsifQasim) April 8, 2026

Remind us again who’s meant to be responsible for the welfare of the NHS? Oh yeah, it’s the fucking health secretary.

Wes Streeting: Tory in disguise

Then there’s the good old standard – pointing out that Streeting is a Tory in a red tie:

We have a Labour Health Secretary actively campaigning against medical professionals.
What a disgrace Wes Streeting is. https://t.co/sLK4Js0zVA

— Anne Greensmith 💙 (@snowleopardess) April 8, 2026

Anyone else remember back when Labour was a friend of the unions? Wasn’t that nice? Moving on then.

Oh, and of course, there’s the fact that Streeting’s framing was low-down, even for him:

Trying to characterise doctors as uncaring is an incredibly unprincipled and disappointing thing to see from a Labour Health Secretary.

Shame. https://t.co/2sab8JUAmN

— Harry Eccles (@Heccles94) April 8, 2026

Nobody mention the public approval

Then, we’re breaking out the big guns – highlighting that the Labour Party are hardly brimming with public approval:

Why do politicians think that basically everyone else *except* themselves have to act in a way that has public support? https://t.co/rNmhQVXh0P

— Sean Biggerstaff (@Seanchuckle) April 8, 2026

Just 16% of the public currently intends to vote for Labour in the event of a general election. Oh, and 63% of the public disapprove of the current government.

Looks like Streeting will be out of a job even faster than the doctors he’s trying to chase off.

Then, of course, there’s the popularity of the health secretary himself:

So still a higher approval rating than you or your Government.

Waiting lists are over 6 million and you've cut 1000 consultant and GP training posts out of spite.

The public want someone who can fix the health service, not someone using it as a stepping stone to their PM run. https://t.co/bX57ioZFij pic.twitter.com/rM8JPdibap

— DoctorsVote (@DoctorsVoteUK) April 8, 2026

Did anyone else know that YouGov tracks the popularity of individual politicians? That has the potential to become utterly soul-destroying.

I bet this is going to come in handy.

What unites us?

Anyway, let’s see what the ‘opposition’ thinks:

I will ban resident doctors and consultants from going on strike – as we already do for the Police and Armed Forces.

Labour has chosen the unions over patients. The @Conservatives choose patients, because only we are serious about getting Britain working again.

— Kemi Badenoch (@KemiBadenoch) April 8, 2026

You know, it’s got to be difficult for the likes of Badenoch and the other Tory scum at the moment. Labour keep coming out with all of the horrific right-wing policies that used to be the Conservatives’ bread and butter.

Look, poor Badenoch has had to resort to making shit up. ‘Labour has chosen the unions over patients’ – come again now? Are we listening to the same Labour health secretary?

You know, if Streeting and Badenoch sat down and talked it out like grownups, they’d find they’re more alike than they are different.

Both clearly think they have free rein to abuse NHS doctors.

Likewise, they both think they can lie to the public and get away with it.

And, of course, both of them are working as hard as they can to ensure that Labour are never elected again.