The Tories have been accused of telling public sectors to ‘get poorer and be happy about it’ in an angry TV clash about the state of the NHS.
Journalist Ash Sarkar tore into defence minister Alex Chalk over the government’s decision to lift the cap on bankers’ bonuses while ordinary workers strike over the rising cost of living.
In a heated debate on the BBC’s Question Time on the crisis facing the NHS, Sarkar pointed out how doctors’ real terms pay had fallen on average by 25% between 2010 and 2020.
“Do you think that doctors’ work became 25% less useful during that time?” she asked the minister.
“No — you just decided to start paying them worse comparative to what they’ve been paid before and forcing them to work in worse conditions.
“And when it came to your party’s mates in the City, you said, ‘well, in order to get the best talent, we’ve got to lift the cap on bankers’ bonuses, pay has got to be competitive.”
She added: “But when it comes to things like the NHS or the education sector, you’re effectively saying to all these public sector workers, ‘get poorer and be happy about it’.
“Now why should any of them accept that?”
The government is coming under increasing pressure over its handling of the NHS, which is enduring its worst winter crisis in a generation.
It comes as new figures showed that ambulance response times and A&E waits are now the worst on record.
The average response time in December for category two calls, —which can include heart attacks and strokes —reached an hour and a half — more than 50% higher than the previous record high.
Ministers have laid much of the blame for the situation on the aftershocks of the Covid pandemic and a surge in flu cases, but health leaders say they have been raising the alarm about slipping standards for decades.
Around 25,000 ambulance workers went on strike on Wednesday, and are poised to strike over a further six days as the dispute with the government escalates.
Meanwhile, nurses will walk out again on Wednesday and Thursday next week in their dispute with the government over pay and working conditions.
Sarkar told Chalk: “The reason why you don’t want to admit there is a crisis is because it makes your government look bad, and it’s that simple.
“But if you can’t be trusted to describe the problem, why should we trust you to fix the problem?”
The government announced this week that it would pump an extra £200 million into the system to buy up extra beds in care homes to free up capacity.
There are currently about 13,000 patients who are ready to leave hospital occupying beds in England.
An additional £50 million will be spend on upgrade and expanding hospitals to include new ambulance hubs and facilities for patients when they are discharged.