No, U.K. Health Secretary Wes Streeting did not say 'starting point' of NHS is how to 'boost corporate profits'

What is the claim?

Social media users have shared an image of Wes Streeting, the U.K. Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, with text overlaid on it that reads: "Wes Streeting says the health service's 'starting point' is how it can boost corporate profits  - a complete inversion of Nye Bevan's socialist vision of the NHS." Users have shared this image with captions insinuating that Streeting is attempting to privatize the National Health Services (NHS). One user shared this image with the caption: "Our NHS is absolutely NOT for sale and as a movement, we will not allow it. We are watching you, Wes Streeting." Archive links to such posts can be found here and here.  

The claim surfaced days after the Labour Party won the elections in the United Kingdom and Keir Starmer was elected the New Prime Minister. Wes Streeting is a Member of Parliament from the Labour Party, representing the Ilford North constituency. 

Screenshot of the claim circulating online (Source: X/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, Streeting's remarks have been misinterpreted and cited out of context.

What is the fact?

A Google reverse image search of Streeting's image showed us that Streeting made these remarks at Future of Britain 2024, an event organized by the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change that, according to the website, discussed governance in the age of AI. Streeting was interacting with podcaster and event host Jon Sopel at the event, and we found the full video on the institute's YouTube channel.

At no point in the video does Streeting say the NHS's starting point will be corporate profits. He says the NHS can drive economic growth by treating sick people and getting them back to work, which will indirectly help economic growth.

Around 6 minutes into the video, Sopel asks him about his earlier remarks about the NHS "being broke," and how he plans to tackle it. From 6:09, Streeting says that he has told his department and the NHS that they need to "rethink their role" in government and in the country at large. "This is no longer simply a public services department, this is an economic growth department. The health of the nation and the health of the economy are inexplicably linked, and that means we are going to be a government that firstly, recognizes that fact and recognizes that as we get people not just back to health but also back to work, that's a big contribution to growth. When there are three million people off work off sick, as we focus with a bold agenda on public health and prevention… we will not only be enabling people to live well and to live well for longer but to contribute more and drive the economic growth of the country."

He then adds, "If we can marry our health and social care system with the incredible life sciences and med tech ecosystem we have in this country, we can be a powerhouse for the life sciences and med tech revolution here in this country. That is an economic growth mission."

He adds that as anchor institutions, the NHS and the social care system "can be drivers of economic growth in the country" and "not just faster growth, but equitable growth shared by all." He does not mention the privatization of the NHS.

Streeting talks about ending the "begging bowl culture," in which the only interaction between the Treasury and the health services is when seeking funds. At 8:31 in the video, Streeting says, "The starting point has got to be, 'We will help you achieve your mission for growth and improve the prosperity and lives of everyone in this country by making sure that we are with you at the lockstep in driving growth.' That is a big shift in mindset, focus and activity, that's going to be at the heart of our thinking and how we build a health and social care system for the 21st century." He did not say the starting point would only be corporate profits here.

Sopel then asks him specifically about the private and public sectors working together in healthcare and whether there is a contradiction, to which at 12:13, Streeting remarks, "Only if you are using Elon Musk's platform to complain that I want to privatize. Irony rolled over and died." He goes on to add that there is an "obvious mutual interest" between public and private and speaks about marrying "the sharpest, brightest minds in U.K. life sciences and med tech, with the single-payer NHS model that we have with all of the untapped potential that it offers."

Streeting's interaction was also reported in The Telegraph, which quoted Streeting as saying that the NHS must stop asking for money and should start driving growth by getting people back to work. The report added that it is time to rethink the role of the NHS in Britain, and he vowed to stop the begging bowl culture.

The verdict

U.K. Health Secretary Wes Streeting did not say the NHS would be privatized. He said that the NHS would drive economic growth indirectly, by helping sick people get back to work through its services. He did not say that NHS would be used to boost corporate profits.