JULIE ELLIOTT: The Prime Minister is playing games with people’s lives and their health

“The nurses going on strike is a badge of shame for this Government.”

As we enter the festive period, it is a good time to look back on the year and consider how we have ended up where we are now.

Inflation hitting record highs, key industries going on strike, energy bills rocketing and the third Conservative Prime Minister this year.

The Tories are in chaos, but it is the country that suffers.

This week also sees the first ever nationwide nurses’ strike.

The hardworking and dedicated medical staff, who the Conservatives clapped for over the pandemic, are finding themselves forced to take industrial action because the Government refuses to acknowledge the work that they do. The nurses going on strike is a badge of shame for this Government. Instead of getting to grips with the problem as a leader should, the Prime Minister still refuses to get around the negotiating table with them.

He is playing political games with people’s lives and health – the country deserves better.

This is the same for a number of major industries that are going on strike over the next month.

The Prime Minister simply refuses to do anything about it.

He could scrap the non-dom status tax loophole and use that money to bring through a new generation of doctors and nurses. He won’t, but Labour will.

He could scrap the tax break awarded to private schools to put money back into education for all, driving up standards in state schools across the country. He won’t, but Labour will.

He could go and get the money back from companies that ripped Britain off during the pandemic through the Government’s VIP lane. He won’t, but Labour will.

The economy needs to grow to deliver jobs, better income, and a future for our young people – but the Conservatives are presiding over an economy that is contracting, with record high interest rates and wage stagnation.

It is important that we ask ourselves – after 12 years of Conservative chaos, are we really in a better place now than we were then?

Labour has a plan for growth, it has a plan for public services, and it has a plan to restore trust in politics.

The abolition of the House of Lords, and redistribution of power to local decision makers, will give people more of a say in their communities, and Labour is committed to a fairer, greener future.

This country does not need more of the same from the Conservatives’ 12 years of failure. It’s time for change.