Sunak: Hold me to account on reducing NHS waiting lists

ReutersCopyright: Reuters

We'll be closing this page soon but before then, here's a rundown of the main events from today.

New Year speech

In his first address of the year - a wide-ranging speech - PM Rishi Sunak set out five goals that he insisted voters should hold him to account on. He said he wants to:

• Halve inflation to ease the cost of living and give people financial security
• Grow the economy, creating better-paid jobs and opportunity across the country
• Decrease national debt to secure the future of public services
• Cut NHS waiting times to improve patient care
• Stop small boats crossing the Channel - detaining and removing those who reach the UK illegally

Less than impressed

Sunak was quizzed on the detail of his plans - and opposition parties criticised his speech:

• Deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner described Sunak as a "do-nothing prime minister" and said the country would be left asking "is that it?" after his speech
• The SNP's Westminster leader, Stephen Flynn, said Sunak's pledges were nothing more than "flimsy promises" - and an "advert for why Scotland needs independence"
• Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey accused the PM of being "asleep at the wheel" while the health service was "stretched to breaking point"
• Meanwhile Carla Denyer, the Green Party's co-leader, tweeted to say Sunak's growth plan was "unsustainable" and warned of an "austerity 2.0"

Back to strikes

While Sunak promoted his vision for 2023, strike action continues to affect most of the UK.

Just 10% of England's normal rail services are due to run on Thursday, when 12,500 train drivers in the Aslef union stage walkouts.

In Scotland, nurses have confirmed they won't go on strike at the same time as nurses in England on 18 and 19 January.

Political leaders will often use the first week of any new year to try to tap into that early January sentiment of reflection and renewal. Today it was Rishi Sunak’s turn. Tomorrow it’ll be Keir Starmer’s for Labour.

Sunak’s address had the feel of the party conference speech he never gave. He was cast briefly last autumn towards political oblivion — before the implosion of Liz Truss’s premiership.

His five promises are an attempt to provide structure and accountability to his next 12 months of governing. Some look eminently achievable, others rather vague. Some in their very formulation underline the gravity of the current situation.

Promising the economy will grow by the end of the year still means months and months of recession beforehand.

Sunak sought – even beyond those promises – to set out what drives him. His passion for education. An aspiration all young people in England study maths in some form until they’re 18. His anger at antisocial behaviour, albeit without new specific ideas to tackle it.

Amid what many see as the multiple crises now, this broad vision might appear jarring to some. This is a man who became prime minister in the blink of an eye, still attempting to introduce himself to the country.

But his political and economic inheritance - and the ticking clock of an election within two years - mean that his challenge is delivering enough, quickly enough.

For tomorrow, it’ll be his opponent’s turn – Keir Starmer setting out his alternative vision, as each man grapples to be seen as the most competent and inspiring manager of a rather bleak era.

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Twice in Rishi Sunak’s speech, he pledged to “stop the boats”.

The prime minister did qualify this, saying: “We will pass new laws to stop small boats, making sure that if you come to this country illegally, you are detained and swiftly removed.”

So what exactly is the prime minster promising? To “stop the boats”? Or to “pass new laws to stop small boats”?

He was asked about this in the Q&A, and he conceded that “this is not an easy problem to fix and it’s not one we can fix overnight and requires lots of different things to be changed.”

“The most important thing we need to do is pass new legislation,” he said. “And we want to make sure that that new legislation means that if you come here illegally to our country you will not be able to stay. You will be detained and swiftly removed back to a safe country or your own home if that is appropriate.”

So this is a case of reading the small print. What Rishi Sunak has actually promised is to pass new laws that would mean people entering the UK illegally would be detained and removed.

That is not the same as “stopping the boats.” What’s more, this new legislation may well get bogged down in the courts as a potential breach of the UK’s refugee obligations. And if it is going to work, it will have to be better than the laws passed only last year.

Not every comment we have received has blamed the government for the state of the NHS.

Some readers have expressed the view that the problems stem from decades of the health service being poorly run, while others have praised Rishi Sunak for seeking to be transparent and accountable.

Quote Message: The reality is that whatever the colour of governments in power over the last 40 years, they have all failed to grasp the nettle when it comes to properly re-organising and modernising the NHS. from Dave W, from Cheshire

The reality is that whatever the colour of governments in power over the last 40 years, they have all failed to grasp the nettle when it comes to properly re-organising and modernising the NHS.

Quote Message: Unsustainable, there has to be a real hard discussion about what [the NHS] can and can’t provide. At its inception no one would have ever dreamt about what it’s expected to provide today and you could sink the entire GDP into it and it still wouldn’t be enough. It would take a godlike figure to be able to get to grips with it, instead of the tinkering that the various parties do when they get into power. from Christine Sampson

Unsustainable, there has to be a real hard discussion about what [the NHS] can and can’t provide. At its inception no one would have ever dreamt about what it’s expected to provide today and you could sink the entire GDP into it and it still wouldn’t be enough. It would take a godlike figure to be able to get to grips with it, instead of the tinkering that the various parties do when they get into power.

Quote Message: 'Transparency' from the prime minister's speech... It is refreshing compared to the bluster, incompetence and grandstanding from his predecessors. It is good to see he wants to be held accountable. At the end of the day we are judged by a score card in the real world. from Raj Sood

'Transparency' from the prime minister's speech... It is refreshing compared to the bluster, incompetence and grandstanding from his predecessors. It is good to see he wants to be held accountable. At the end of the day we are judged by a score card in the real world.

More reaction to Rishi Sunak's speech - this time from the SNP's leader at Westminster, who has branded it "an advert for why Scotland needs independence".

Stephen Flynn MP criticised Sunak for speaking at length about "improving numeracy", yet offering "no hope to those weighed down by the harsh figures that are preventing them from heating their homes, putting food on the table or paying their mortgages".

Flynn added that the speech offered the prime minister a chance to fix "broken Britain", to "pay public sector workers what they are worth" and to protect the most vulnerable in society - but "he did none of these things".

Instead, Flynn said, Sunak made "five flimsy promises" - like the pledges of his prime ministerial predecessors.

UK ParliamentCopyright: UK Parliament

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

Let's continue our look at how opposition parties have responded to Rishi Sunak's speech, in which he made five key pledges on the NHS, the economy and migrants.

The Green Party's co-leader Carla Denyer has tweeted to say Sunak is trying to "undo the Tories' own economic mess".

She attacked his growth plan as being "unsustainable" and warned of an "austerity 2.0".

Getty ImagesCopyright: Getty Images

The Liberal Democrats have offered their own comments on what we heard from the PM.

Party leader Sir Ed Davey said people would be "dismayed that Rishi Sunak still doesn’t have a proper plan to deal with the crisis raging in the NHS".

His statement also accused the PM of being "asleep at the wheel" while the health service was "stretched to breaking point".

He continued: "Families up and down the country are facing personal tragedies every day and this Conservative government either doesn’t understand or doesn’t care."

PA MediaCopyright: PA Media

Opposition parties have been reacting to the prime minister's speech a little earlier.

Shadow Foreign Secretary David Lammy hit out at the prime minster's plan to ensure all pupils in England study maths in some form until the age of 18 - saying this "lecture on the importance of maths rings hollow".

In a tweet, Lammy accuses the government of missing its target for new maths teachers "every year since 2012".

He continues: "Our children need more teachers, not just words. That’s what Labour’s plan to end tax breaks on private schools will deliver."

Laura, an ears, nose and throat surgeon, gave me her opinion of Rishi Sunak's speech after he pledged to reduce NHS waiting times.

She said: "This shows just how out of touch the prime minister is with the NHS. Waiting times cannot be reduced if we cannot even serve people coming through the doors.

"That's like saying you'll build a new house while the house is on fire. You have to put the fire out.

Laura added: "The only way to reduce wait times are by outsourcing services, which could result in the NHS becoming even more fragmented and privatised."

Laura reflected on the last 15 years and how ear and eyes tests have fallen to private companies. She said the resources needed to remain within the NHS, to improve patient care.

I asked Laura about Sunak's strike comments and she explained: "The reason we are striking is because right now in the NHS services are dangerous, we cannot deliver the care we want to.

"The public are getting to the NHS on death’s door. You can’t start from the back by reducing waiting times, you've got to start on the front line."

An update for you now on strike action by NHS staff, which is one of the topics Sunak was pressed on by journalists a little earlier.

NHS nurses in Scotland have confirmed they won’t go on strike at the same time as nurses in England.

On 18 and 19 January, Royal College of Nursing (RCN) members at 55 health trusts in England are set to take part in two 12 hour walkouts.

But RCN Scotland is still deciding when its own industrial action should happen and isn’t expected to announce a date, or maybe even dates, until next week.

That means it would be too late to arrange anything for the 18th or 19th as health boards need to be given at least two weeks’ notice.

The Scottish government has previously said it has made its "best and final pay offer" to NHS staff.

Meanwhile, the prime minister says the UK government, which is responsible for healthcare in England, will set out next steps "in the coming days" about planned strike action by NHS workers there.

We have received a large amount of comments about Rishi Sunak's speech, very few of which have been supportive. Here's a sample of what some of you had to say.

Quote Message: A time when our people need a functioning NHS and this government have trashed our NHS, leaving it on its knees. Sunak has the audacity to be talking about the distraction of his aspiration to make maths a subject that must be learned up to the age of 18. We don’t want to hear this rubbish from Sunak. from Susan Steed

A time when our people need a functioning NHS and this government have trashed our NHS, leaving it on its knees. Sunak has the audacity to be talking about the distraction of his aspiration to make maths a subject that must be learned up to the age of 18. We don’t want to hear this rubbish from Sunak.

Quote Message: Why on Earth has Sunak come out with the pledge of creating better paid jobs when the country needs nurses pay to increase and attract more staff? He also needs to make sure carers have better paid jobs so there are more of them so they can help those who would free up NHS beds by coming out of hospital earlier. Surely the better paid jobs need to be through investment in the NHS? This in turn would reduce waiting lists. The solution is as obvious as the truth, that Tory governments have crippled the NHS. from Rhys Roberts

Why on Earth has Sunak come out with the pledge of creating better paid jobs when the country needs nurses pay to increase and attract more staff? He also needs to make sure carers have better paid jobs so there are more of them so they can help those who would free up NHS beds by coming out of hospital earlier. Surely the better paid jobs need to be through investment in the NHS? This in turn would reduce waiting lists. The solution is as obvious as the truth, that Tory governments have crippled the NHS.

Quote Message: I am so very angry about this proposal of Sunak's to make young people study maths until 18. Whilst a knowledge of numeracy is important, the issue with current maths teaching is that it is not made relevant and puts many students off. I teach in the arts and feel putting maths above other subjects alienates and penalises those who have a tendency towards the arts - one of the biggest industries in this country, let's not forget. from Karen Benjamin

I am so very angry about this proposal of Sunak's to make young people study maths until 18. Whilst a knowledge of numeracy is important, the issue with current maths teaching is that it is not made relevant and puts many students off. I teach in the arts and feel putting maths above other subjects alienates and penalises those who have a tendency towards the arts - one of the biggest industries in this country, let's not forget.

Education is "the closest thing to a silver bullet there is", the prime minister said. In other words, he sees it as a solution to some of the UK's most pressing challenges.

Rishi Sunak's proposals included better attainment at primary schools, more technical education, and - as we heard earlier - a new approach to numeracy.

All of those will require time and money.

The injection of extra cash for schools over the next two years has eased some financial pressures - but teachers are still considering strike action over pay.

And the impact of school closures in the pandemic remains a huge challenge. Last year, 59% of children leaving primary school reached the expected standards in reading, writing and maths.

Sunak is clearly keen on training up skilled employees - yet there was no extra funding for colleges in the Autumn Statement.

And, despite the emphasis on the importance of family, Sunak's speech was light on plans for early years education.

While taking reporter questions following his speech, Sunak was asked at one point to clarify what he meant when he said he'd stop small boats crossing the Channel.

Did he mean there would be no boats - or fewer boats - by the time of the next general election, The Times' political editor Steve Swinford probed.

Sunak admitted it was a tough issue to fix, but said a deal made with France last year meant 40% more patrols were happening on the Channel. There was also a deal with Albania which, he said, would make it easier to return migrants who've come to the UK from there.

Sunak finished his response by saying that the kind of system he "believes makes sense" was one in which legislation allows for the UK to send illegal arrivals back to where they're from - or to another safe country, presumably referring to the government's Rwanda policy.

"What I want the country to know is I'm working day and night to deliver that system," he concluded.