PMQs watch LIVE: Rishi Sunak reveals he is registered with NHS GP but went private ‘in the past’

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak was accused by Keir Starmer of choosing to “prolong the misery” over strikes at PMQs.

Sir Keir also claimed the Government had “gone from clapping the nurses to sacking the nurses” through its new minimum strike legislation.

The PM clashed with Sir Keir Starmer at the first Prime Minister’s Questions of the New Year amid a backdrop of crippling public sector strikes.

Sir Keir said:“If the prime minister had negotiated with the nurses before Christmas – they wouldn’t be on strike. So why is he choosing to prolong the misery rather than end these strikes?”

In response to the new strike legislation that could allow bosses of key public services to sack employees who refuse to work, he said: “When I clapped nurses I meant it. His response to the greatest crisis in the history of the NHS is to threaten to sack our nurses.”

Mr Sunak said he had always been “clear” that he wants to have “constructive dialogue” with the trade unions.He defended the minimum safety legislation outlined yesterday, saying it is a “simple proposition” which would balance union need to strike with supplying life-saving care for those who need it.

It comes as up to 25,000 ambulance workers across England and Wales went on strike on Wednesday in a dispute with the Government over pay.

Paramedics, call handlers, drivers and technicians from the Unison and GMB unions are taking part in staggered strikes across a 24-hour period.

Starmer accused of having ‘absolutely no understanding’ of cancer patient care 12:51 , Miriam Burrell

Sir Keir Starmer asked Rishi Sunak when cancer patients will “once again get the certainty of quick care that they got under Labour”.

He said: “This is not just about routine care, there could be nothing more terrifying to be told you might have cancer, that’s why the last Labour government brought in a guarantee you’d be seen by a specialist within two weeks.

“Today, 50,000 people are waiting longer than that…so, when will cancer patients once again get the certainty of quick care that they got under Labour?”

Mr Sunak accused Mr Starmer of having “absolutely no understanding of the situation”.

The Prime Minister said: “What happened to cancer referrals during Covid? They went down by almost two-thirds. That was because of a pandemic that they went down.”

PM ‘can’t tell us how much he will reduce wait lists’ 12:47 , Miriam Burrell

Sir Keir Starmer said the Prime Minister “can’t tell us how much he will reduce waiting lists by or when”.

“Last month, 1.4 million people waited more than four weeks for a GP appointment. When Labour left government you were guaranteed an appointment in two days. When does the Prime Minister expect to get back to that?”

Rishi Sunak replied: “When it comes to waiting lists we have already eliminated two-year wait lists – done last year. We are on track this spring to eliminate those waiting 18 months, with a clear plan to go further to eliminate those waiting 52 weeks by next spring.”

Labour: ‘Why is PM choosing to prolong misery rather than end strikes?’ 12:37 , Miriam Burrell

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said if the Prime Minister had negotiated with nurses and ambulance workers they would not be on strike.

He asked the Prime Minister: “So why is he choosing to prolong the misery rather than end these strikes?”

Rishi Sunak said: “We’ve always been clear that we want to have constructive dialogue with the unions. That is also why when it comes to the issue of pay we have accepted in full the independent recommendations of pay review bodies.

“[Starmer] talks about wanting to end the strikes. The question for him is simple then: why does he not support our minimum safety legislation?”

“We all know why … it’s because he’s on the side of his union paymasters, not patients.”

Government gone from ‘clapping to sacking nurses’ 12:33 , Miriam Burrell

Sir Keir Starmer claimed the Government had “gone from clapping the nurses to sacking the nurses”.

The Labour leader quoted a Government report that said long NHS waiting times were a result of “10 years of managed decline”.

He added: “As a result, 7.2 million people are now waiting for treatment. He says he wants to be held to account over that.

Rishi Sunak replied: “We have a very clear plan to bring the waiting lists down and it is one that the NHS supports.

“I tell you what the NHS doesn’t need, what they don’t need is Labour’s only idea, which is for another completely disruptive, top-down, unfunded reorganisation buying out every single GP contract.”

PM: Labour ‘always run out of other people’s money’ 12:28 , Miriam Burrell

MP Fiona Bruce asked Rishi Sunak if he would committ to no unfunded spending committments.

The Prime Minister said the Government must safeguard public services, and said “we must be disciplined on unfunded spending”.

He criticised Labour’s spending plan by saying: “They always run out of other people’s money.”

PM asked about ‘radicalisation of young men’ 12:24 , Miriam Burrell

Teachers are having to develop their own resources for boys “brainwashed” by Andrew Tate’s misogyny, the Prime Minister was told.

He was asked if he will support teachers to crack down on the “radicalisation of young men”.

Rishi Sunak said £2 billion has already been invested in schools and he pointed to the Online Safety Bill that improves protection for children.

PM quizzed on cancer patient support 12:14 , Miriam Burrell

Sir Keir Starmer asked when cancer patients will get the certainty of “quick care that they had under Labour”.

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak claimed Labour has “absolutely no understanding of the situation”.

He said there are “record levels” of cancer treatment.

He said: “What’s terrifying is…people not knowing whether they call 999 if they will get the treatment they need.”

Sunak claims to tackle NHS wait times 12:11 , Miriam Burrell

When quizzed on lengthy NHS wait times by Sir Keir Starmer, Rishi Sunak said he has eliminated two-year wait times last year, and the Government is on track to eliminate those waiting 52 weeks by next spring through “record funding” and more surgical hubs.

New strikes Bill ‘shouldn’t be controversial’ 12:08 , Miriam Burrell

The Prime Minister was asked why patients “always wait longer” under Tory leadership by Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.

Rishi Sunak said the minimum safety legislation, proposed by the Government in response to recent strikes, is a “simple proposition” and “it’s important to balance strikes with people’s access to life-saving treatment”.

Mr Sunak said the Bill “shouldn’t be controversial” and pointed to similair legislation in France and Spain.

PM ‘registered with NHS GP’ 12:06 , Miriam Burrell

Prime Minister Rishi Sunak said he is registered with an NHS GP but has used “independent healthcare” in the past, as PMQs gets underway for the first time this year.

No NHS dentists in Doncaster are waiting months for an appointment, how long he had to wait for last NHS dentist appointment

When asked about how the long Prime Minister had to wait for his last NHS dentist appointment, Mr Sunak replied by saying there are more NHS dentists across the UK with more funding to get the treatment.