It was an extraordinary headline. “Labour vows war on health unions”: surely not? But the headline writer had done justice to Wes Streeting’s remarks. I cannot recall a more intellectually honest declaration by a senior minister or shadow minister – on any topic – and it will receive its inevitable reward: barely concealed dismay in Labour circles, hearty applause from all wise Tories. “If anyone in the NHS thinks that they can demand more investment without demonstrating better standards for patients, they’ve got another thing coming. We are not going to have a ‘something for nothing’ culture in the NHS with Labour. The NHS… is a service, not a shrine.”