important event
Ministers deny extent of A&E crisis, says Royal College of Emergency Medicine
Over the weekend, Dr. Adrian Boyle Royal College of Emergency Medicinesaid A&E delays are killing 300 to 500 people every week.Today, his RCEM colleague Dr. Ian Higginson, the university’s vice-chancellor claimed the minister denied the extent of the problem. He told Times Radio:
Many political leaders have been conspicuously lacking what I call meaningful engagement for quite some time. And what we tend to hear in our trots is what I’m saying on behalf of my colleagues in emergency medicine, what other colleagues in other parts of the health service are saying is true. It’s not the acceptance that it is the same old one.
A battle of masculinity and denial almost seems to be going on. This is a serious problem for the NHS. [If we get] Finding themselves in a situation where staff are trying to tell the story on the front lines, organizations and political leaders who have the power and the ability to make change are simply pushing back. real problem.
We all need to work together for this, but there is no evidence of that.
Tory Rep. Virginia Crosby says she wears a stab vest in her precinct surgery to respond to threats
A congressman has revealed he is wearing a stab-resistant vest as he performs surgery on his constituency following the murder of his colleague David Ames. Virginia CrosbyThe Conservative MP of Ynys Môn (Angelsey) said in an interview with GB News that he believes MPs are being abused more online than before and that receiving threats before breakfast is commonplace. Told. she said:
I was in a difficult situation. After the murder of David Ames, I’m wearing a stub jacket and performing in-person surgery. We also provide security protection.
I think it’s important to have direct contact with voters. And unfortunately, this is one of the things I have to do to make sure I actually do the job I’ve been chosen for.
Crosbie said social media companies should do more to prevent online abuse, and Twitter accounts should be properly authenticated.
The full interview with presenter Gloria De Piero will be broadcast in full on Sunday.
In his various pre-Christmas interviews and appearances before the Commons Board of Transportation, Mark Harper The Secretary of Transportation alleges that the government has undermined the chances of a deal to resolve rail strikes by insisting that the RMT include a provision forcing the RMT to accept an extension of train driver-only operations. But in an interview with Sky News this morning, when asked if the government had intervened to block the deal, he said it was “absolutely not true.” continued:
In fact, since I became Secretary of Transportation a few months ago, I’ve met with all of the union leaders and tried to change the tone of the debate, saying that cabinet ministers are instrumental in promoting unions and employers, the railroad companies. I said yes. and Network Rail surround the table.
But Mick Lynch The RMT general secretary said on the same show that Harper was wrong. He said:
[Harper] I’m not telling the truth as I had documents with the train operating company that did not include driver only operations. It was removed for approval in Whitehall at the Department of Transportation and they inserted about eight or nine bullet points that completely undermined the negotiations. I know it’s true.
If he says it never happened, he’s just not telling you the whole truth.
According to an article in the Sun today, ministers hope to resolve the public sector strike by sticking to the proposed wage deal and making other working conditions more lenient.in their story Harry Cole When Ryan Saby Report:
Ministers are seriously considering increasing vacation pay, pension benefits and bonuses.
Whitehall sources say the government is “holding tight” to payments with medical and transport unions, believing additional profits can break the deadlock.
This is the kind of face-saving compromise that often leads to a strike being resolved. We’ll see later what No 10 has to say about this story.
Cole and Sabey also said they may move next year’s wage negotiations to February or March to settle the dispute.
Deal to stop UK train strikes ‘within a short distance’, says Network Rail
The deal to stop the strike is at “impressive distance”, Tim Shoveler, argued Network Rail’s chief negotiator.my colleague Jessica Elgot Here is the story.
UK faces worst recession in G7, economists say
of his new year message boris johnson He said he was confident about 2023 as the economy “starts to turn around.” But according to the Financial Times, leading economists are far more pessimistic as they believe the UK’s recovery will take longer than in other regions. The FT he surveyed over 100 leading economists, and their forecasts for the UK are grim.in their story Delphine Strauss When Valentina Romei report
Economists say the UK will face its worst recession next year and the weakest recovery among the G7.
The FT’s annual poll of leading UK-based economists finds a clear majority of 101 respondents believe the inflation shock caused by the pandemic and the war in Ukraine will last longer in the UK than elsewhere. So the Bank of England has said it needs to keep interest rates high. And the government will implement a tightening fiscal policy.
More than four-fifths expect the UK to lag behind other countries, with GDP already contracting and expected to contract for most or all of 2023.
As a result, it is expected that household income will be further squeezed. Mortgage costs will rise, adding to the pain already caused by high food and energy prices.
And here is the FT graph showing one of the findings.
Transportation secretary admits proposed law offers no solution to current rail strike
Good morning, happy new year. I’m glad to know that I haven’t recorded a New Year’s message for you all, but if you missed it, try Rishi Sunak’s message. first one (This was even more mundane than usual and included a claim that he had been prime minister three months earlier, but that was about two months ago). The second (This is an improvement and may have been recorded as repair work), kia starmers (which was more Prime Minister-like and had ample Union Jack presence to rival Liz Truss’ videos), or boris johnsonofwas in some respects the most interesting.
As usual, the former prime minister is touting boostalism, predicting that the economy will pick up and that Vladimir Putin will lose in Ukraine, but also that 2023 will see Britain “finally use all our new “It’s going to be the year we start doing it.” It’s growing its lead as the perfect place to be free, invest, start a business, raise a family or just hang out in a pub. “
Pubs are a British institution and are expected to be particularly good here, so maybe his final argument was correct. But when Johnson talked about the “new freedoms,” he didn’t mention Brexit (perhaps knowing that it was increasingly seen as a mistake). To hide his awareness of how hollow this sounds.
Britain may be good for visiting pubs. But if you’re looking for the best place to call an ambulance, catch a train, schedule a GP, secure a pay raise above inflation, heat your home at a reasonable cost, and see a doctor, A&E So let’s make sure families don’t have to go to food banks, export to the EU, can afford to buy their first house, have the police catch robbers, recruit staff to work in hospitality, decent adult social care. Find and get affordable childcare. , secure a rape conviction, or even book a driver’s test.
as my colleague gwyn topham As reported in his overnight article, this week’s episode of Britain Not Working is dominated by rail strikes.
Two of the main controversial Mick Lynch RMT General Secretary, and Mark Harper The Secretary of Transportation has both been interviewed this morning. However, neither side is particularly novel and continues to denounce the other side’s ruthlessness. “What we need to hear from the government now is what is it going to suggest to us?” Lynch told Sky News. “I think it’s time for RMT to get off the picket line and go around the negotiating table to finalize a deal with the train operator and Network Rail.” harper told Times Radio.
Rishi Sunak has pledged to introduce legislation this year that would limit the ability of railway unions to cause disruption by requiring minimum service levels to be maintained during strikes. In an interview with the Today show, Harper said while this might help commuters in the future, it wouldn’t solve the controversy.
About the ongoing disputes, the way we have to sort them out is to get people back to the table and resolve the disputes.
A minimum service level law may help in the medium term, but it is not a solution to the ongoing rail strike.
Parliament is not in session this week, but the 10th lobby briefing took place at 11:30 am. So there should be another call from the government. With the crisis in the A&E sector and many other issues facing the country, it’s heading into 2023.
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