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Streeting says, even though staff are on strike, people should still go to hospital if they need emergency help
Streeting says he does not want people to stay away from hospitals today if they need emergency medical help.
The most important message that I want us all to convey collectively as, as parliament and the NHS, is to the public’ I do not want people who need to access health care to think [they’d] better not try.
So if it’s an accident or an emergency, people should have access.
Key events
Streeting says hospices should be ‘essential part’ of health service, and not so reliant on voluntary donations
Josh Fenton-Glynn (Lab) asked Streeting about funding for hospices.
Streeting said he was “uncomfortable” about the extent to which hospices are reliant on voluntary donations.
He said that members of his family had benefited from hospice care.
He said the hospice sector felt more like an “essential part” of a health service, not an extra funded by the charity sector.
Gregory Stafford (Con) asked how much money central government had given the NHS to cover the costs of the strike.
Streeting said NHS England had been able to keep costs under control. He went on:
We have managed to absorb pressures of strikes and costs of strikes without directly impacting on frontline services.
But he accepted that strikes had an opportunity cost of £500m. That was money that could have been spent elsewhere if it had not been spent on dealing with the impact of strikes.
Streeting pays tribute to Jack Fletcher, chair of the BMA’s resident doctor’s committee. He says he thinks Fletcher is a decent person, and he says he and Streeting do agree on “so many things”.
Streeting says, even though staff are on strike, people should still go to hospital if they need emergency help
Streeting says he does not want people to stay away from hospitals today if they need emergency medical help.
The most important message that I want us all to convey collectively as, as parliament and the NHS, is to the public’ I do not want people who need to access health care to think [they’d] better not try.
So if it’s an accident or an emergency, people should have access.
Streeting says he is in ‘violent agreement’ with BMA on need for action on resident doctors’ jobs
McIntyre moves on to the resident doctors’ strike.
Streeting say he won’t go over all he has said already about the BMA.
He explains what the government has done for resident doctors on pay and on jobs.
On jobs, he says the government is in “violent agreement” with the BMA.
He says the government has proposed legislation that would make it easier for resident doctors to get jobs.
At the health committee Wes Streeting is now being asked about strikes.
Alex McIntyre (Lab) starts by asking about what he says is the longest running strike in the NHS – the strike by phlebotomists in Gloucestershire.
Streeting says no one has covered themselves in glory in this dispute. He says Unison and the NHS are involved in a “constructive” period of dialogue at the moment. He says he hopes it will be over soon.
He also declares an interest, saying he is a Unison member.
Streeting says apologises to patients for disruption, saying government did ‘everything we could’ to avert resident doctors’ strike
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, has apologised to patients over the strike by resident doctors in England today.
Speaking to broadcasters before he started giving evidence to the Commons health committee, he said:
We did everything we could to avert these strikes and to stop strike action from taking place.
When we came into government, we recognised what resident doctors were saying about pay, and that’s why they received a 28.9% pay rise from this government.
Of course, we’re willing to talk to them about what we do in future years.
I think people can see that I’ve tried my absolute best to avoid these strikes on what is the worst time for the NHS.
I’m really sorry to patients for the disruption that is happening as a result.
UK inflation falls sharply to 3.2% amid slowdown in food price rises
UK inflation fell by more than expected in November amid a slowdown in food prices, official figures show, strengthening the case for the Bank of England to cut interest rates on Thursday, Richard Partington reports.
Streeting gives evidence to Commons health committee
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, is giving evidence to the Commons health committee. There is a live feed here.
At the start of the hearing Layla Moran, the chair, said they would cover the resident doctors’ strike in the hearing, but she said she wanted to start with other topics.
Labour support on course to fall to 10% in Senedd elections, poll suggests, with Plaid Cymru set to win most seats
Steven Morris
Steven Morris is a Guardian reporter who covers Wales.
Labour is on course to be crushed in next year’s elections for the Senedd, a new YouGov poll implies.
Previous polls have shown Plaid Cymru and Reform UK on course to be the two largest parties in the Senedd, with Labour and the Conservatives far behind, but the new poll, conducted by YouGov for Cardiff University, shows Labour’s support falling even further, to 10%.
According to Jac Larner from Cardiff University, these results would result in the following seat distribution.
Plaid Cymru – 39
Reform UK – 34
Labour – 10
Conservatives – 6
Green – 4
Lib Dem – 3
Labour has been in power continuously in Cardiff since the first elections to what was then called the Welsh assembly in 1999 and a result like this – even though it is in line with that polls have been suggesting for months – would be devastating for the party.
Commenting on the poll in a post on his Substack newsletter, Will Hayward, the Welsh political commentator, says:
The magic number under the new Senedd system is 49. You need 49 seats to get a majority. As it is highly unlikely that one party will get that alone, parties will need to work together.
With that in mind here are some key takeaways from the polling:
-Plaid and Labour together have exactly 49.
-Plaid alongside the Greens and Lib Dems are on 46 – three short of a majority.
-Together Reform and the Tories are nine short of a majority.
Once we start getting into the realms of Plaid potentially being able to form a government without Labour we are truly in uncharted waters.
In a joint blog on the poll for Cardiff University, Larner and fellow academic James Griffiths say “while Reform UK’s growth reflects broader British patterns, Plaid Cymru’s consolidation of progressive votes represents a Wales-specific political development”. They explain:
England’s disaffected Labour voters are increasingly drifting to the Greens or Liberal Democrats. Wales’ progressive voters have a credible alternative in Plaid Cymru, but specifically in devolved electoral competition, where the choice is about Welsh governance and Plaid can credibly claim to fight for Welsh interests within Wales.
This creates a bifurcated realignment with different mechanisms on each side. Reform’s consolidation of the British-identifying right reflects British politics playing out in Wales. Plaid’s consolidation of the Welsh-identified left reflects Welsh politics asserting autonomy within the devolved electoral context.
For the first time in a century, Welsh Labour faces the prospect of opposition or junior coalition partnership. That prospect, more than any survey, signals how profound this realignment truly is. The bloc structure that has organised Welsh politics for decades persists, but the hierarchy within those blocs has been overturned.
Commenting on the poll, a Plaid Cymru spokesperson said:
Something big is truly happening in Wales.
Coming so soon after our Caerphilly by-election win, this poll shows the momentum is firmly with Plaid Cymru and that next year’s election is shaping up to be a straight choice for Wales’ future.
After years in power, Labour have given up on Wales. People are tired of broken promises and being taken for granted and yearning for something new: fairness, ambition, and a government that finally puts Wales first.
And a Welsh Labour source told ITV:
There will be many polls before May. This doesn’t mean this is where we’ll be by election day. Welsh Labour is focused on protecting jobs, bringing down waiting lists, supporting our communities. This is what makes a difference to everyone’s everyday lives. We know we’ve got work to do, but we’re determined to earn back the trust that voters have put in us before.
Labour says Farage’s refusal to apologise over racism allegations shows he’s ‘unfit for high office’
Nigel Farage has been told to apologise for his alleged teenage racism by 26 school contemporaries who have written an open letter telling of their “dismay and anger” at his response in recent weeks. Daniel Boffey, Henry Dyer and Mark Blacklock have the story.
This morning Anna Turley, the Labour party chair, said in a statement that Farage’s refusal to apologise, and to even fully account for what happened, shows that he is “unfit for high office”.
It’s shameful that Nigel Farage’s refusal to have a proper answer as to whether he racially abused people at school has led to this. He should finally do the right thing now and apologise fully to those who have bravely come forward.
His inability to answer basic questions about his past behaviour leaves the impression he may have something to hide. It really shouldn’t be that difficult for him to explain his actions, or to take responsibility for them. Once again, Nigel Farage has proven he’s unfit for high office.
In his various comments on these stories, Farage has veered between denying the allegations in their entirety, suggesting people misremembered what happened, and dismissing the comments alluded to as banter that was not intended to cause offence.
Starmer urged by Lib Dems to ensure rejoining Erasmus is ‘first step to closer relationship’ with EU
Good morning. As Pippa Crerar revealed for the Guardian yesterday, the government will today announce that the UK is rejoining the EU’s Erasmus student exchange programme.
The move has been welcomed by pro-EU parties. The Liberal Democrats released this comment from their universities spokesperson, Ian Sollom.
After years of campaigning by the Liberal Democrats, we welcome the news that the UK is finally set to rejoin the vital Erasmus+ student exchange scheme from 2027.
This is a moment of real opportunity and a clear step towards repairing the disastrous Conservative Brexit deal.
However, while this is a welcome breakthrough, it must be viewed as a crucial first step on a clear roadmap to a closer relationship with Europe. Starting with negotiating a bespoke UK-EU customs union, and committing to a youth mobility scheme for benefit of the next generation.
The SNP has also been calling for the UK to rejoin Erasmus, and it issued this statement from Joe FitzPatrick MSP.
Scotland did not vote for Brexit. Our young people, our universities, and our communities have already been paying the price of Farage’s campaign to leave for years while Starmer refuses to admit that the whole thing was a mistake.
The SNP has campaigned tirelessly for Scotland’s access to Erasmus, while Labour and the Tories ignored the voices of the young people most affected by Brexit.
It is baffling how Labour is only now realising what Scots figured out a long time ago. This isn’t leadership, it’s a desperate scramble to fix a mess they helped create. Scottish students shouldn’t be used as pawns in Westminster’s Brexit blunders.
But from the Conservative party and Reform UK – so far, we’ve just had silence. It is not hard to see why. Do they defend Boris Johnson’s decision not to join Erasmus, and the replacement scheme, Turing, that he set up as an alternative (which is not reciprocal, and which is less generous)? And, if they are going to criticise the decision, do they commit to pulling out again if they win the next election – a pledge that would be unpopular with young people, and the university sector?
We may find out later today, although the Tories will probably want to say as little as possible on this topic.
And it is not as if there are not other issues to discuss. Here is our story about the strike by resident doctors in England starting this morning.
Wes Streeting, the health secretary, will be speaking to MPs about this within the hour.
Here is the agenda for the day.
9.30am: Wes Streeting, the health secretary, gives evidence to the Commons health committee.
Morning: The government is due to confirm that the UK is joining the EU’s Erasmus programme.
10am: Unison is due to announce the results of its leadership election. Christina McAnea, the incumbent who is seen as one of Keir Starmer’s main union allies, is being challenged by a leftwinger, Andrea Egan.
11am: The Green party is due to announce what it calls a “significant” defection. Politico says it’s Jamie Driscoll, the former Labour North of Tyne mayor.
Noon: Keir Starmer faces Kemi Badenoch at PMQs.
With recess starting tomorrow afternoon, the government is also making 14 announcements in the form of written ministerial statements, including ones covering the local government settlement for 2026-27, the bid to buy the Telegraph, and progress on the Grenfell Tower inquiry recommendations.
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