Wes Streeting has unveiled his initial policy pledges, including the full restoration of Sure Start, which would be funded by a wealth tax.
He also said he would delay any formal Labour leadership challenge until after Andy Burnham fought the Makerfield by-election.
The Ilford North MP said he would be accused of “trying to pull a fast one” if he were to trigger a contest before Mr Burnham had the chance to re-enter Parliament.
Speaking to the Mirror, Mr Streeting, who is not yet ready to formally launch a bid to unseat Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, explained his reasoning.
This would allow Mr Burnham the opportunity to contest the Makerfield by-election. Mr Burnham currently serves as the Mayor of Greater Manchester and is a former MP for Leigh.
Like Mr Streeting, he also previously held the position of health secretary.
He launched his by-election campaign on Friday, when he said: “A vote for me in this by-election is a vote to change Labour.”
Allies of Mr Burnham have suggested he may not launch a bid for the party leadership immediately if he is successful in his attempt to return to Parliament in the June 18 contest.
Mr Streeting told The Mirror: “We need all of our best players on the pitch.
“We’ve obviously got the Makerfield by-election underway, where Andy Burnham has my full support, and I suspect Andy Burnham would want to be a candidate in a leadership race.
“And I felt that if I’d rushed ahead and triggered a leadership contest before Andy Burnham had the chance to come back, people would have just said I was trying to pull a fast one, trying to get ahead of the competition.”
Mr Streeting also said the Labour Government had made a “good start” in funding Best Start Family Hubs, billed as a one-stop shop for families who need support such as classes, activities or finance or housing advice.
“Sure Start, when we left it (in 2010), had £2.7 billion worth of investment behind it,” he said.
“We’ve got a billion in.
“Now, that’s a good start, but it basically says to a whole load of kids growing up in Britain today, ‘sorry, but we haven’t – we’re not going to get around to you this time’.”
Mr Streeting, who left his Cabinet post earlier this month, later added: “One of my first campaign pledges is to fund the full restoration of Sure Start and to make sure that we’re rolling that programme out to the families, to the kids, to the communities who need that best start in life.”
He continued: “It would show that this Labour Government, and a Labour government I lead, is absolutely committed to building a better future for the next generation, making sure that kids – all kids – get the very best start in life, closing that gap that sees kids from poorer families arrive at school with their futures already determined, already disadvantaged from those from the more wealthier backgrounds.”
He said a wealth tax, equalising capital gains tax with income tax, would fund his proposal.
“At the moment, you know, a cleaner pays a higher rate of marginal tax than a landlord whose property is increasing value,” Mr Streeting said, also pledging “things like entrepreneurs’ allowances and investment allowances to encourage those wealth creators to invest in the sort of businesses that will improve our growth”.
Speaking to the Guardian, he suggested making the independent Planning Inspectorate more involved in approving new housing proposals.
He said he loved nature, but wanted to ease some of the thresholds at which housing developers must carry out an environmental assessment of their proposals.
“The endangered species I’m most worried about in this country at the moment is kids in temporary accommodation,” he said.
Mr Streeting said his party needed to look at its asylum policy “a bit more carefully”, and on benefits, he called for a “more thoughtful approach that can reduce the welfare bill by improving access to employment”.
He also insisted he had the numbers to launch a leadership bid, “including ministers”, before he held off triggering one.
Earlier on Friday, Mr Burnham appeared to rule out trying to break the promises that Labour made at the 2024 general election, telling reporters: “I think you’ve got to honour manifestos.”
He said he wanted to see his party commit to bringing in proportional representation in its next manifesto, and he backed council tax reform.
“It’s a highly regressive tax, and I think it’s not justifiable based on those 1991 valuations,” he said.
“I see a big case for land and property and business taxation to be changed.”
Mr Burnham also said: “I know there’s a great resentment about inheritance tax, so actually just, you know, take that away, perhaps, and look at a care levy.
“It’s not about asking people to pay more, it’s just people paying in the most unfair way possible at this moment in time and I think there’s a much better way of doing it, and people just have peace of mind while they’re alive, because they get the care that they need, and then it will be dealt with in a much better way.”
