Wes Streeting has taken aim at Chancellor Rachel Reeves in a move that has escalated Labour's civil war. The former Health Secretary hit out at Ms Reeves' controversial hike to employer national insurance earlier this week. Businesses had warned the chancellor that such a hike would be a further knock to recruitment figures, particularly for young people.

Mr Streeting told the Sunday Times that there should be a "targeted reduction" of employers' national insurance contributions as a way to "actively incentivise" those same businesses to hire young people. This view went against Ms Reeves' implemented tax plan and fractured the Labour Party further, with some saying Mr Streeting's proposed finance plan is poor.

Pat McFadden, the Work and Pensions Secretary, said Mr Streeting's proposed plan was unlikely to come to pass, The Guardian reported.

Mr McFadden said: "Now, it’s a fair point of debate to say maybe we should expand that or do something with it, but like every other call for a tax change, there’s a cost to these things. You have to net these things off.

"If you want to pull one lever in the tax basket, as it were, there will be consequences. We have seen NHS waiting lists fall. This is important because falling waiting lists are a labour market measure too."

Mr Streeting went on to make a prediction about whether Ed Miliband, the current Energy Secretary, would grant drilling licences for the giant oil and gas fields Rosebank and Jackdaw, based on whether they are consistent with the UK's climate commitments.

He said: "Yes. I think that’s probably where Ed will get to. When he makes a decision, I’d be surprised if that wasn’t the case. The granting of those licences will not necessarily translate into cheaper bills, but it will translate into higher tax receipts."

Though Mr Streeting has been vocal about his desire to run in a leadership contest for the Labour Party, he is not the frontrunner. Andy Burnham stands to be the most likely candidate to succeed Keir Starmer, should a leadership challenge ensue.

Mr Burnham is not currently a sitting MP but will stand in the Makerfield by-election on June 18.