Call off strike and let’s do a deal – Wes Streeting tells junior doctors
WES Streeting is calling on junior doctors to cancel their strike – promising a Labour Government will end the dispute.
The man who could be Health Secretary in three weeks’ is asking medics to “do the right thing” by patients.
He made the urgent appeal in the Sun on Sunday ahead of a five-day walkout by the British Medical Association just before the General Election.
He said: “I’m asking the BMA if they will hold off, do the right thing by patients, give their members a bit of a breather.
“If there is a Labour government after the next General Election, they can rest assured that they will be one of my first phone calls on July 5.
“I will be asking the Department of Health and Social Care to get talks back up and running urgently so that we can try and negotiate an end to this dispute once and for all.”
Mr Streeting said he “can’t stand” the thought of any more patients suffering delayed or cancelled operations and appointments.
And was “optimistic” Labour could make a “breakthrough” with the union in their long running dispute over pay.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer says the doctors’ demand of a 35 per cent pay rise is unaffordable.
Asked if Labour will hand them a massive pay out, Mr Streeting said: “The honesty I will show taxpayers and junior doctors is the honesty of saying the same thing to both groups very publicly.
“The public finances are in a mess. I’m sorry that we will not be able to give junior doctors a 35% pay increase. The money simply isn’t there. What we are prepared to do is to negotiate.”
But the MP for Ilford North was tight-lipped about whether he had a figure in mind.
“I’m not going to get into the business of negotiating ahead of the general election,” he said.
“I don’t think it’s helpful to try and negotiate in public through interviews.”
Labour is facing major questions over future tax rises. Economists have accused the main parties of a “conspiracy of silence” by failing to honestly spell out spending choices ahead.
Mr Streeting said: “I thought that was an unfair charge at the Labour Party‘s door, not least because we have been making hard choices.
“Take social care. I would have loved to have been able to promise more in this manifesto.
“But because of the state of the public finances, I’ve had to say, hold your horses to some really good and expensive ideas.”
During the interview, the Labour bigwig also revealed his plans for a National Care Service will take ten years.
But he promised to honour Boris Johnson’s pledge to build 40 new hospitals.
And revealed he has asked the civil service for a report into NHS cyber security following an attack on major London hospitals by Russian hackers.
He added: “I do worry about cybersecurity…We do live in an increasingly dangerous and uncertain world.”