Rishi Sunak accused Sir Keir Starmer of being in hock to unions yesterday – as he urged Labour to again legal guidelines defending lives throughout strikes.
Throughout indignant clashes within the Commons, the Prime Minister mentioned that backing ‘minimal service ranges’ throughout strikes by ambulance staff and others ‘shouldn’t be controversial’.
‘It is a easy proposition,’ he mentioned. ‘Nobody denies the unions’ freedom to strike however it is usually necessary to steadiness that with folks’s proper to have entry to life-saving healthcare.’
The PM additionally addressed hypothesis about his personal medical historical past by admitting he had beforehand used personal healthcare. Dealing with the Labour chief throughout Prime Minister’s Questions, Mr Sunak mentioned Sir Keir ‘merely doesn’t have a coverage’ for coping with the walk-outs, including: ‘He talks about wanting to finish the strikes.
Rishi Sunak accused Sir Keir Starmer of being in hock to unions yesterday – as he urged Labour to again legal guidelines defending lives throughout strikes
‘The query for him is straightforward then: why does he not assist our minimal security laws? Everyone knows why… it’s as a result of he’s on the facet of his union paymasters, not sufferers.’ Official figures present that the unions have handed Labour greater than £15million since Sir Keir turned chief in 2020. These behind the ambulance strikes are among the many social gathering’s greatest donors.
Union leaders have vowed to struggle the brand new laws within the courts and ‘within the streets’. Sir Keir pledged {that a} Labour authorities would repeal the legislation earlier than it had even been printed, telling MPs: ‘His [Mr Sunak’s] personal assessments say it might improve the variety of strikes. The straightforward reality is you’ll be able to’t legislate your means out of 13 years of failure.’
Dealing with the Labour chief throughout Prime Minister’s Questions, Mr Sunak mentioned Sir Keir ‘merely doesn’t have a coverage’ for coping with the walk-outs
It got here as the general public had been warned to solely name 999 yesterday ‘if it’s a life or limb-threatening emergency’ after 25,000 ambulance staff went on strike. Union bosses insisted that they had assured emergency cowl with native hospital belief leaders, however No 10 mentioned that they had refused to agree nationwide cowl, which the PM’s official spokesman mentioned had left folks dealing with a ‘postcode lottery of care’.
Beneath the brand new legislation, employers might sack putting employees who refuse to offer important providers, and sue unions in the event that they fail to get strike cowl.
Mr Sunak himself has repeatedly ducked questions on his use of personal healthcare – however, in a shock transfer yesterday, he informed MPs that whereas he had used ‘unbiased’ healthcare previously, he was now registered with the NHS.
His press secretary yesterday defined that he had set out his preparations ‘within the pursuits of transparency’.
