By Ben Kerrigan-
Pat Cullen, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, says Rishi Sunak’s speech suggests he is “detached from the reality” of what is happening in the NHS. She made the comment in an open letter to Steve Barclay, the health secretary, released to the media. She said:
Cullen accused the prime minister’s language of being detached from the reality of what is happening and why.
”As far as the current NHS situation, it focused on false promise and hollow boasts when practical and urgent measures are required on the part of government.
Cullen said the shortage of healthcare workers was one of the main causes of the problems in the NHS. She said: ”The responsibility for equipping publicly funded NHS and social care services so that they can meet the needs of the population lies squarely with the UK government. It is disingenuous to insist that these services are adequately resourced, when the evidence clearly demonstrates that they are at the point of collapse.”
She also called for Stephen Barclay to reopen talks on the pay award before the next nurses’ strike later this month.
Stephen Flynn, the SNP’s leader at Westminster, says Rishi Sunak’s speech shows why Scotland needs independence.
In a statement, he said: ”This speech was an opportunity for Rishi Sunak to fix the Broken Britain that Westminster has created – to mend a broken relationship with the EU, to pay public sector workers what they are worth and to protect those who need help the most. He did none of those things.
Instead, the prime minister made five flimsy promises, whilst people in Scotland are paying the price of five Tory prime ministers over the last 13 years. Cameron, May, Johnson, Truss and now Sunak have all made plenty of promises – what they have actually delivered is austerity, Brexit and a denial of Scottish democracy.
Sunak’s government has so far been not much different from any other before him.Discontent is still pervasive across society wit strikes in almost every sector from the Nhs to the railways and the emergency services.
The prime minster’s speech was considered nothing more than routine rhetoric to keep the clock ticking.
However, Sunak’s promise to pass new laws to stop small boats so that those who come to this country illegally are detained and swiftly removed is one of his most believable promises. That’ because it’s an important topic which has long been high on the political agenda, but never delivered by successive governments.
Conservative Mps across the country are keen to put a lid on immigration, and Sunak is committed to that end
Sunak, one of the wealthiest men ever to take office and also perhaps the mot eloquent of Britain’s past prim minister’s has still not provided the magical improvement in living standards across the board in the Uk.
Having successfully presided over the furlough scheme during the pandemic, Sunak has always been viewed as the man with the know how to improv and grow the Uk economy. Growing the economy is also one of his promises, an achievement of which will easily set him apart from his predecessors.