Nursing strikes to go ahead after health secretary ‘refuses to negotiate on pay’
Talks to avert the nursing strike on Thursday have failed after the union leader behind the action accused the health secretary of refusing to discuss pay.
Pat Cullen, general secretary of the Royal College of Nursing, said on Monday night: “I needed to come out of this meeting with something serious to show nurses why they should not strike this week. Regrettably, they are not getting an extra penny.”
Earlier, No 10 had indicated Steve Barclay, the health secretary, would not be willing to negotiate a new pay offer for nurses, but it was thought other aspects of the nurses’ employment could be up for discussion.
Rail strikes will go ahead this week – politics latest
However, the union had made it clear that pay would have to be on the table if the government wanted to avert the strike action on Thursday.
Ms Cullen told Sky News she went into the meeting with “hopes” but the government “was true to its word – they would not talk to me about pay”.
She said Mr Barclay “showed total belligerence this afternoon, he closed his books and walked away”.
“I did most of the talking, there was very little talking coming from the other side of the table, except to keep repeating to me that he has accepted the independent pay review body recommendation,” she said.
The union is demanding a pay rise of 5% above the RPI rate of inflation, which was 14.2% in October, but Ms Cullen has hinted that she could compromise if the government negotiates on pay.
Ministers have repeatedly insisted they can’t afford to give inflation-busting pay rises and say they have accepted the independent pay review body’s recommendation of a £1,400 rise.
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Nurses ‘left out in the cold’
Ms Cullen said nurses’ pay has dropped by 20% in the past decade, so what they are looking for is “pay restoration”.
“They are not asking for their pockets to be lined with gold, they never have and they never will,” she said.
She said nurses are living “beneath the breadline” and “can no longer afford to be in the profession”.
“We have been left out in the cold by our secretary of state,” she said.
During the meeting, Mr Barclay told Ms Cullen that pay increases for nurses would take money from frontline services, a spokesperson from the Department of Health and Social Care said.
“Mr Barclay said he would continue to engage with the RCN as we move into the pay review process for next year and on non-pay related issues,” the spokesperson added.
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Public sector pay review is fair, says chancellor
Mr Barclay was under increasing pressure to settle a deal after strikes by ambulance staff and some NHS workers in Scotland were called off today, as members of two unions voted to accept the Scottish government’s recent pay offer.
Unite and Unison members cancelled the planned industrial action following negotiations with Scottish Health Secretary Humza Yousaf and the intervention of First Minister Nicola Sturgeon.
The new deal means NHS workers in Scotland would remain the best-paid in the UK, with workers getting pay rises ranging from £2,205 to £2,751.
For the lowest paid it would be a rise of 11.3%, with an average rise of 7.5%.
However, nursing strikes will still go ahead in Wales after last-minute talks to resolve the dispute over pay also collapsed on Monday.
The first nurses’ strike will take place on 15 December and, should no resolution be found afterwards, a second strike day will take place on 20 December.
Ms Cullen said she expected further strikes to go ahead next year unless the government is willing to discuss pay.
Nurses are among hundreds of thousands of workers striking this winter across many sectors.
Earlier, the RMT union voted to reject an offer from Network Rail aimed at averting a series of rail strikes in the coming weeks.
Labour’s shadow health secretary, Wes Streeting, accused Mr Barclay of “spoiling for a fight”.
He said: “They want to blame nurses, blame paramedics, blame NHS staff for challenges in the National Health Service which are the direct fault and responsibility of 12 years of Conservative mismanagement – frankly, I think it’s disgusting.”
Liverpool have won the Premier League title after a 5-1 victory over Tottenham at Anfield.
Arne Slot’s men did it in impressive style, turning over Spurs in a convincing win.
It was a rocky start for the Reds after Dominic Solanke put the north London side ahead.
However, fortunes quickly changed in the first half as Liverpool scored three times without a response.
Captain Virgil van Dijk (centre) celebrates. Pic: Reuters
Salah on his knees in celebration after the final whistle. Pic: AP
Liverpool’s Harvey Elliott (below) and Jarell Quansah celebrate after full-time. Pic: PA
Slot cheers after the full-time whistle. Pic: AP
In the second half, it took until the 63rd minute for Mohamed Salah to make it 4-1 before a fifth followed.
The Reds have won the title in manager Arne Slot’s first season in charge, and move level with fierce rivals Manchester United on 20 league championships.
But it makes them arguably the most successful English club ever as they have won more European Cup or Champions League titles.
Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk told Sky Sports after the final whistle: “It’s special and it’s something that we don’t take for granted. It’s amazing.
“A lot of emotions before the game, during the whole week, but we got the job done and we (are) truly deserved champions of England. (Liverpool is) the most beautiful club in the world and I think we deserve all of this. Let’s enjoy the next couple of weeks and let it sink in.”
Liverpool’s Kostas Tsimikas poses with a Premier League trophy cut out. Pic: Reuters
Manager Arne Slot and his team after the final whistle. Pic: AP
Slot took over last summer from Jurgen Klopp, who guided them to their previous and maiden Premier League title triumph in 2020, when the COVID-19 lockdown saw matches played behind closed doors.
He is the first Dutch manager to win the Premier League and the fifth man to do so in a debut campaign after Jose Mourinho, Carlo Ancelotti, Manuel Pellegrini, and Antonio Conte.
Speaking to Sky Sports he said: “They [the players] did an outstanding job today. The main job was to win. Everyone said we had got it already. But we had to make sure and we got over the line.”
Several players, including Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk, and Mohamed Salah, played leading roles in both the 2025 and 2020 campaigns.
Van Dijk and Salah recently signed new contracts extending their careers at the club.
Mohamed Salah takes a selfie with fans after scouring the fourth Liverpool goal. Pic: AP
Fans at Anfield during the game. Pic: AP
Fans in the stands at Anfield before full-time. Pic: Reuters
Liverpool will have to wait until the final game of the season – at home to Crystal Palace on 25 May – to be presented with the Premier League trophy.
It will be the first time the club’s fans will have seen their side lift the top-flight title in person since 1990.
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Two pro-Palestinian demonstrators have thrown red powder on Tower Bridge – just moments before leading runners in the London Marathon went past.
The protesters were arrested on suspicion of causing a public nuisance and remain in custody, said the Metropolitan Police.
A video shared by Youth Demand, which is calling for a trade embargo on Israel, shows two people jumping over a barrier that separates spectators from the race course.
The pair, wearing t-shirts that say “Youth Demand: Stop Arming Israel”, are then seen standing in the middle of the road on the bridge.
Pic: LNP
They throw red powder in the air as an official marathon car goes past displaying the race time.
A motorbike with a cameraman on board continues along the route, while a second motorbike stops and one of the riders gets off and pushes the pair out of the way, just before the men’s elite runners pass.
Several police officers then jump over the barrier and detain the pair, the footage shows.
There appeared to be no impact on the marathon.
More than 56,000 participants were expected to take part in the 26.2-mile race through the capital.
Sabastian Sawe of Kenya won the men’s elite race in a time of two hours, two minutes and 27 seconds, while Ethiopia’s Tigst Assefa shattered the women’s-only world record in two hours, 15 minutes and 50 seconds.
Assefa beat the previous best of two hours, 16 minutes and 16 seconds set last year in London by Kenyan Peres Jepchirchir.
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Pic: LNP
The Metropolitan Police said in a statement: “At around 10.38am, two protesters from Youth Demand jumped over barriers at Tower Bridge and threw red paint on to the road.
“Marathon event staff intervened to remove the protesters from the path of the men’s elite race which was able to pass unobstructed.”
The force added that they were “quickly supported by police officers who arrested the protesters on suspicion of causing a public nuisance”.
The Met said the paint “appeared to be chalk-based” and was not expected to “present a hazard to runners yet to pass this point”.
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