Streeting joins senior MPs who say government must act against 'sense of despair'

Senior Labour figures including Wes Streeting have said the government must show optimism and that it is bringing about change after losing a Welsh Senedd byelection, amid rising concern about a loss of momentum.

- Aletha Adu Geraldine McKelvie

The health secretary was among the ministers who warned that the party must counter a "growing sense of despair" and show voters tangible proof of change after its defeat in Caerphilly last week, a town that has voted Labour for more than 100 years.

Streeting's public intervention comes as Labour's new deputy leader, Lucy Powell, begins her first week in the role. Powell promised to give members a stronger voice inside the government after a low-turnout contest that followed the departure of Angela Rayner.

She said the government must listen to its members instead of being guided by a "narrow group of voices" as it battles to stave off electoral disaster in May's local elections.

Powell defeated the education secretary, Bridget Phillipson, in the deputy leadership contest, which concluded on Saturday. She said she had been given "a clear mandate that members want their voice to be heard at the top of the party".