PMQs: Starmer attacks Sunak over “13 years” of Tory “failure” on the NHS

The first Prime Minister’s Questions of the year covered similar ground to the last session of 2022, as strikes by NHS staff once again dominate the news agenda. Keir Starmer attacked the government’s handling of negotiations with health unions, demanding to know why Rishi Sunak is “choosing to prolong the misery” rather than ending the strikes. The Prime Minister responded with his central attack line of the day – that Labour’s opposition to the government’s minimum service levels bill means that Starmer is “on the side of his union paymasters, not patients”. As Wes Streeting and Angela Rayner did earlier this week, the Labour leader focused his criticism of the legislation on its impact on healthcare staff, telling MPs: “They’ve gone from clapping the nurses to sacking the nurses. It’s that simple.”

Starmer segued from discussing the bill to attacking the Tories’ record on the NHS. “The simple truth is you can’t legislate your way out of 13 years of failure.” He noted that waiting lists had grown under Conservatives prior to the pandemic, asking Sunak: “Why do patients always wait longer under the Tories?” He quoted from a report by the King’s Fund think tank, which concluded that, though Covid had “exacerbated” the issues facing the NHS, the ultimate cause of the crisis was a “decade of neglect” under the Tories. The Prime Minister came back with his own quote, citing criticism of Labour’s plans to reform GPs’ contracts by Nuffield Trust CEO Nigel Edwards, who said the proposals “will cost a fortune” and are “out of date”. Sunak quipped: “Just like the Labour Party.”

Starmer demanded clarity on the Prime Minister’s pledge last week to reduce NHS waiting lists. When Sunak failed to provide it, the Labour leader declared: “As ever with this Prime Minister, you scratch the surface and you find there is nothing there.” He contrasted current waiting times with those under the last Labour government, noting that when Labour left power, patients were guaranteed a GP appointment in two days. “When does the Prime Minister expect to get back to that?”

Sunak explained that the government has eliminated two-year waiting lists and is on track to eliminate 18-month waiting lists this spring, with plans to “go further” and eliminate year-long waits by next spring. Starmer pointed out the lack of ambition in the Prime Minister’s targets, arguing: “He’s promising that, one day, although he can’t say when, their record high waiting lists will stop growing. And that’s it.” The Tory benches were noticeably quiet as Sunak ran through the government’s record on waiting times, perhaps noting for themselves the hollow victory of eliminating two-year waits.

Starmer set out clearly how Tory mismanagement of the NHS has led to the current crisis, discrediting Sunak’s claim that his party is “on the side of patients”. Sunak had his moments, accusing the Labour leader of being “inconsistent” and “unprincipled” and highlighting his changed position on NHS outsourcing. But Starmer’s final contribution drew his argument together well and will likely have resonated with his audience at home: “After 13 years in government, what does it say that the best they can offer is that, at some point, they might stop making things worse?”