Inside Politics: Nurse strike 2.0

Nurses stage second walkout in a week and charities vow to continue fighting government’s controversial Rwanda policy, writes Matt Mathers

Striking nurses on the picket line outside the Aintree University Hospital in Liverpool (PA)

Hello there, I’m Matt Mathers and welcome to The Independent’s Inside Politics newsletter.

Godspeed to those of you who have not yet reached the holidays – we’re nearly there.

For those who have – don’t get too smug about it. There’s still time for a meltdown over that present you forgot to buy.

Some housekeeping: Inside Politics will be with you right up until Friday and then take a break until 3 January.

Inside the bubble

Chief politics commentator John Rentoul on what to look out for:

Rishi Sunak chairs cabinet this morning before the Commons sits at 11.30, starting with Treasury questions, for its last day before the Christmas recess. At 3 the prime minister has his first session at the Liaison Committee, being interrogated by the chairs of select committees. Then parliament shuts up shop – unless there is an emergency recall – until 9 January.

Daily briefing

Deadlock

Thousands of nurses across England, Wales and Northern Ireland go on strike today for the second time in the space of a week after the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) and the government failed to reach a breakthrough on pay and conditions.

Nurses are asking for a pay rise of 5 per cent above RPI inflation (around 19 per cent) – demands that the government continues to say are unreasonable and unaffordable, although the RCN has indicated it would accept a lower offer.

Around a quarter of hospitals and community teams in England are taking part in the industrial action, alongside all trusts in Northern Ireland and all but one health board in Wales, with ambulance workers including paramedics, control room workers and technicians set to walk out tomorrow.

There has been little progress made in talks between both sides. The RCN is urging ministers to get around the table to discuss pay but Downing Street has repeatedly deferred to the independent pay review bodies, saying it will stick to their recommendations of a 4.5 per cent rise.

Prime minister Rishi Sunak yesterday called on unions to call off the strikes. He said the government was putting in place contingency measures “to make sure we are well prepared to handle the disruption that is coming”. But he still urged unions to do “everything” they could to minimise the impact of the walkouts.

Asked if he could guarantee that people would not die as a result of the strikes, Mr Sunak said: “I’m really disappointed to see that the unions are calling these strikes, particularly at Christmas, particularly when it has such an impact on people’s day-to-day lives with the disruption it causes and the impact on their health.”

Speaking to BBC Radio 4 earlier, Pat Cullen, general secretary of the RCN, denied that the strike action had been co-ordinated with other unions and apologised for the disruption the walkouts will cause.

She also repeated a warning that nurses would have “no option” but to continue industrial action in January if no progress is made in discussions.

Striking nurses on the picket line outside the Aintree University Hospital in Liverpool (PA)

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Rwanda row

Judges finally gave their verdict on the government’s controversial Rwanda policy yesterday, with the High Court ruling that it is lawful.

So is that the end of it?

Charities have vowed to continue fighting the “grotesque” plans, and further legal challenges could be brought by people selected for deportation.

Speaking in the Commons, Suella Braverman, the home secretary, claimed that being forcibly deported to Rwanda is “not a punishment” for crossing the English Channel while asylum seekers told The Independent they would “prefer to die” than undergo removal.

On the record

Steve Barclay, the health secretary, on strikes.

“I hugely value the work of our NHS staff and it is disappointing some union members are going ahead with further strike action when we know the impact this has on patients. My number one priority remains keeping patients as safe as possible and I’ve been working closely with the NHS and across government to protect safe staffing levels.”

From the Twitterati

Paul Waugh, i chief politics commentator, asks if ministers will feel guilty about industrial action.

“NHS staff often feel guilty that they’re letting patients down. But as the ambulance strike looms, will ministers start to feel guilty themselves about the understaffing that puts patient safety at risk?”

Essential reading

• Sean O’Grady, The Independent: Sunak and Boris Johnson could clash over the war in Ukraine
• Jess Phillips, The Independent: PM and Braverman shouldn’t feel proud of their Rwanda scheme – but ashamed
• William Hague, The Times: Ukraine must be given long-range missiles
• Simon Jenkins, The Guardian: Even England’s police want to decriminalise hard drugs. Why won’t our posturing politicians listen

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