Rishi Sunak promises ‘tough laws’ to clamp down on strike chaos as Christmas mayhem looms

Thousands of workers in key services across the country are to walkout this month in rows over pay, jobs and conditions
Lydia Chantler-Hicks7 December 2022

Rishi Sunak vowed to introduce “tough laws” to clamp down on “unreasonable” strike chaos as he faced MPs at Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday.

Mr Sunak pledged to “take action to protect the lives and livelihoods of the British public” with new legislation to protect people from strike disruption if union leaders “continue to be unreasonable”.

It comes as thousands of workers are preparing to bring chaos to the nation’s key services in strikes leading up to the festive season.

Paramedics announced on Tuesday they will be walking out on December 21 in a row over pay - the latest vital sector to announce a walkout. Unions GMB, Unite, and Unison have said they will respond to life-threatening incidents – known as category one calls – but Health Secretary Steve Barclay said on Wednesday there was “still a question” over whether ambulance services will cover all emergency callouts during strikes.

Meanwhile, rail workers are to bring the country’s rail network to a standstill over the festive period by walking out from Christmas Eve to the morning of December 27.

Two 48-hour walkouts will also take place on Tuesday and Wednesday next week, as part of a long-running dispute on pay, jobs and conditions, and on December 16-17, as well as January 3-4 and 6-7.

Royal Mail workers are also set to strike for six days in the Christmas run-up, including Christmas Eve, while NHS nurses are to walk out in dozens of trusts on December 15 and 20 in their first-ever national action.

7 December 2022

WATCH: Sunak vows to introduce ‘tough’ laws to clamp down on ‘unreasonable’ strike action

7 December 2022

PM urges parents to learn Strep A symptoms and stay vigilant

Labour leader Sir Keir urged Mr Sunak to assure parents over steps the nation is taking to protect youngsters against Strep A - after nine children have tragically died with the infection in recent months.

Mr Sunak said: “My thoughts are of course with the families of the children who have sadly lost their lives. We are seeing a higher number of cases from Strep A this year compared to usual.

Prime Minister's Questions
PA

“The NHS are working very hard to make sure parents are aware of the symptoms they should be looking out [for], because this can be treated very appropriately with antibiotics.”

He confirmed there are currently no shortage of drugs available to treat the condition, and there are “very establishe dprocedures in place to ensure that remains the case”.

“The UK Health Security Agency are monitoring the situation at pace, and have confirmed this is not a new strain of Strep A,” he added. “There is no reason to believe it has become more lethal or resistant to antibiotics.

“So the most important thing for parents to do is to look out for symptoms and get the treatment that is available to them.”

For more information on Strep A and its symptoms, click here.

7 December 2022

Sunak vows to clamp down on strike chaos

Rishi Sunak has vowed to “take action to protect the lives and livelihoods of the British public” if union leaders “continue to be unreasonable” regarding strike action.

Sir Keir urged the Prime Minister to “stop sitting on his hands, get round the table and solve this issue”.

The Prime Minister told the Commons: “Hard-working families right now in this country are facing challenges.

“The Government has been reasonable. It’s accepted the recommendations of an independent pay review body, giving pay rises in many cases higher than the private sector.

“But if the union leaders continue to be unreasonable, then it is my duty to take action to protect the lives and livelihoods of the British public.

“That’s why, Mr Speaker, since I became Prime Minister I have been working for new tough laws to protect people from this disruption.”

He demanded that Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer “stand up for working people” and back the legislation.

7 December 2022

PM ‘absolutely shocked’ to read allegations surrounding Tory peer Baroness Mone

Rishi Sunak said he was “shocked” to read allegations surrounding Tory peer Baroness Mone and it was “right that she is no longer attending the House of Lords”.

The Tory peer, 51, is at the centre of storm over her alleged links to a firm awarded PPE contracts worth more than £200million .

Baroness Mone has faced accusations of profiting from the business, but she has long denied any involvement or connection with the firm.

Pressed on this by Sir Keir Starmer, Mr Sunak said: “Like everyone else, I was absolutely shocked to read about the allegations. It’s absolutely right that she’s no longer attending the House of Lords and therefore no longer has the Conservative whip.”

He added “there’s a process in place” to deal with such things, adding: “It’s right that that process concludes. I hope that it’s resolved properly.”

7 December 2022

Sir Keir describes Sunak as ‘blancmange'

Sir Keir branded Mr Sunak “the blancmange Prime Minister”, to which the Prime Minister said the opposition leader was “as ever engaging in the petty personality poltiics, not focused on the substance”.

Prime Minister's Questions
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7 December 2022

Starmer grills PM on housing targets

PMQs has begun, and Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has stood to probe the Prime Minister on the nation’s housing stock.

The Conservative Party promised the country it would build 300k houses a year, but this week wwithout asking a single voter, the Prime Minister broke that promise by scrapping mandatory targets. What changed?”

Prime Minister's Questions
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Mr Sunak responded by accusing Mr Starmer of not taking “the time to read the detail of what we are doing to improve our planning system”.

“So let me just explain what we are doing,” he added. “We are protecting the green belt, we are investing millions to develop brownfield sites, and we’re providing support and protection for local neighbourhood plans.

“Just this morning the shadow housing secretary said, she said, communities should have control over where homes are built and what sort of homes are built. That’s my position. That’s her position. What’s his position?”

7 December 2022

Rishi Sunak pictured leaving No10 on the way to PMQs

Prime Minister's Questions
Rishi Sunak leaves Downing Street on December 7 as he makes his way to Parliament for Prime Minister’s Questions
PA
7 December 2022

Schools Bill dropped as Government prioritises tackling economic crisis

A flagship piece of education legislation has been dropped after running into opposition in Parliament.

The Schools Bill, which had already been stripped of key elements during its passage through the Lords, “ will not progress”, Education Secretary Gillian Keegan said on Wednesday morning.

She told MPs that parliamentary time was being focused on measures relating to the economic crisis, but insisted the Government still viewed elements of the Bill as a priority.

The legislation was originally intended to cover issues including school funding, the regulation of academies, tackling truancy, ensuring the welfare of home-educated children and banning unsuitable teachers.

It had been due for its third reading in the Lords, but the Government stripped out contentious chunks of the Bill that would have given ministers sweeping powers over autonomous academies.

7 December 2022

Rail strikes before Christmas will impact maintenance work, warns Transport Secretary

Transport Secretary Mark Harper has said the walkout by Network Rail workers between Christmas Eve and December 27 will cause “more inconvenience to passengers” because it means planned maintenance will need to be rescheduled.

He told the Commons Transport Select Committee this morning: “One of the things that Network Rail is now looking at...[is] that £120 million worth of essential maintenance work, to see the extent to which that’s affected.

“Of course, even though that may not impact passenger services, it absolutely will affect the reliability of the railway.

“Of course it’s done at Christmas because...that is the least busy time. If that work isn’t done at the Christmas period, it means it will have to be done at other times of the year, which will cause more inconvenience to passengers.”

7 December 2022

PMQs to begin at midday

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We’ll be bringing you everything you need to know from Prime Minister’s Questions, which is due to kick off at midday.

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