He served as a Member of Parliament (MP) for over 30 years, representing South West Devon from its creation in 1997 to 2024, and previously holding its main predecessor seat of Plymouth Sutton, from which the majority its electorate was taken,[1] between 1992 and 1997.

In 1998 Streeter was fined £1,000 by the Law Society for conduct unbecoming a solicitor due to a conflict of interest when dealing with a business merger in 1991 while with Foot Bowden Limited.

"[3] Streeter served as a junior minister in the Lord Chancellor's Department under Prime Minister John Major from 1996 until the defeat of the Major Government in 1997, and was Shadow Secretary of State for International Development in the Shadow Cabinet of William Hague[4] from 1998 until the new Conservative leader Iain Duncan Smith returned him to the backbenches in 2001.

[5] In 2013, Streeter referred to the "familiar glint in the swivelled eyes of the purists" within his own party in an article attacking the divisions caused by those activists who were calling for a referendum on EU membership.

Streeter argued that the result of party infighting over the issue would be "a Labour-led government bend[ing] the knee to Brussels".

[9] Streeter told the Press Association that he hoped his honour reflected, in part, his work over the past decade as chairman of the all-party group on Christians in Parliament and supporting new MPs once they had arrived at Westminster.

On 2 February 2022, Streeter announced that he had submitted a letter to the chairman of the 1922 Committee, seeking a motion of no confidence in the prime minister, Boris Johnson, stating that "I cannot reconcile the pain and sacrifice of the vast majority of the British Public during lockdown with the attitude and activities of those working in Downing Street".

[12][13] Following the resignation of Boris Johnson in July 2022, Streeter announced his support for Rishi Sunak in the subsequent July–September 2022 Conservative Party leadership election.