Hello reader,

With opinion polls showing that Labour is on course to win the general election later this year, Wes Streeting MP will occupy one of the biggest cabinet jobs – and will inherit a health and social care system in crisis.

Chronically understaffed and underfunded, with waiting lists still higher than 7m and public satisfaction at an all-time low, the NHS is experiencing the biggest challenges in its history.

One of Labour’s six key pledges set out by Keir Starmer last week was reducing NHS waiting times. Can these commitments get Britain back on its feet?

On Wednesday 5 June I will be interviewing Wes Streeting about his party’s ambitions for the NHS and the wider country. You can join us at Conway Hall in London, or via the livestream, when he will also be answering your questions.

Tickets are available here.

I hope you can join us.

Pippa Crerar
Political editor, the Guardian