‘The only cure is a Labour government’: Tory MP and doctor Dan Poulter defects over NHS ‘chaos’
Conservative MP and former health minister Dan Poulter has defected to Labour in frustration at the worsening NHS crisis.
The MP for Suffolk Central and Ipswich North, with a majority of 23,391 at the last election, has indicated he is not planning to stand at the next general election.
The defection was revealed in an article on The Observer website, in which he said working as a mental health doctor in a busy hospital A&E over the past year had shown him how desperate the NHS situation had become.
“Working on the frontline of a health service under great strain left me at times, as an MP, struggling to look my NHS colleagues, my patients and my constituents in the eye,” he said.
He recalled seriously ill patients suffering long waits for treatment often hundreds of miles from their homes, adding that the “chaos of today’s fragmented patchwork of community addiction services” had put more pressure on already-stretched A&Es.
“The mental toll of a service stretched close to breaking point is not confined to patients and their families. It also weighs heavily on my NHS colleagues who are unable to deliver the right care in a system that simply no longer works for our patients.”
He said he had resigned from the Conservative Party to focus on his work as a doctor and to support Keir Starmer.
“I can well remember when I first qualified as a doctor and began working in the NHS in 2006. At the time, patient care had been radically improved and transformed by Tony Blair and Gordon Brown’s Labour governments, following many years of Conservative neglect and under-investment.
“…I have come to the conclusion that, once again, the only cure is a Labour government.”
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he was “really pleased” to welcome Dr Poulter to his party. File pic: PA
Dr Poulter criticised the Tories for “putting the politics of public sector pay ahead of ending strikes with healthcare workers”, adding: “Political ideology has been put before pragmatism and meeting the needs of patients, who are the real losers from the strikes”.
He also told The Observer the Conservatives had become “a nationalist party of the right” in the last eight years.
“It is not to say all [Tory] MPs are like that,” he said.
“There are good MPs, but it feels that the party is ever moving rightwards, ever presenting a more nationalist position.”
The Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer celebrated the defection on social media, tweeting: “It’s time to end the Conservative chaos, turn the page, and get Britain’s future back. I’m really pleased that Dan has decided to join us on this journey.”
Sky’s Jon Craig called the defection a “disastrous blow for the Conservatives and a massive propaganda coup for Labour”.
However, two councillors in Dr Poulter’s constituency seemed glad to see him go.
Councillor Samantha Murray said in a post on X that the local Conservative Party “have had to carry him for years”.
Councillor Ian Fisher posted: “Was campaigning this morning and he didn’t even have the decency to tell his hard-working activists in advance. A very self-centered man.”
Stop the boats? Sunak needs to stop the rot in the Tory party
Dr Poulter isn’t just any backbencher, which is what makes his defection to Labour all the more damaging for the prime minister and the Tory high command.
He’s an NHS doctor who’s worked in mental health services and was a junior health minister from 2012-15 when David Cameron was prime minister.
Alongside the formidable Mr Streeting, the dashing doctor will be a powerful advocate for Labour on the NHS.
Stop the boats? After the “honeytrap” MP scandal and the fiasco of the “bad people” MP, this calamitous defection from a high-profile and highly-respected MP, Mr Sunak needs to stop the rot in the Conservative Party.
Read more: Stop the boats? Rishi Sunak needs to stop the rot in the Conservative party
A Conservative Party spokesperson responded to the resignation by saying the news would be “disappointing” for Dr Poulter’s constituents.
“Under the Conservatives we are raising NHS funding to a record £165bn a year, helping it recover from the effects of the pandemic and driving forward its first-ever long-term workforce plan so that we train the doctors and nurses we need for the future in our country.
“Thanks to our plan, we have already virtually eliminated the longest waits and overall waiting lists have fallen by 200,000 in the last five months – and we will go further to make sure everyone gets the world-class care they need.”
UK
Passengers injured after train hits trailer on level crossing near Leominster – as police arrest man
More than a dozen people have been injured after a train hit an agricultural trailer on a level crossing in Herefordshire, according to emergency services.
British Transport Police (BTP) said officers were called to the site north of Leominster at 10.40am on Thursday.
A man has been airlifted to hospital and a woman has also been taken to hospital.
A further 15 people, who were passengers on the train, were assessed by paramedics but discharged at the scene, West Midlands Ambulance Service said.
A spokesperson confirmed that nobody from the tractor-trailer required assessment.
Police have confirmed that a 32-year-old man from Bromyard has been arrested on suspicion of endangering safety on the railway.
Firefighters and officers from West Mercia Police also attended the scene.
A spokesperson for Transport for Wales (TfW) confirmed its 8.30am service between Manchester Piccadilly and Cardiff Central hit an “obstruction” at a crossing between Ludlow and Leominster.
All lines between the Hereford and Craven Arms stations are blocked and trains will not run between the two.
Replacement road transport is being put in place and TfW tickets are currently being accepted by Northern, Avanti, GWR and CrossCountry, it said.
Disruption is expected to last until the end of the day and a spokesperson for the company advised anyone travelling on Thursday to check before they travel.
A spokesperson for West Midlands Ambulance Service said it was “called to an incident on the railway track at Nordan Farm, Leominster, at 10.46am”.
“On arrival crews found a man who was a passenger on the train, they treated him for non-life threatening injuries before conveying him by air ambulance to Hereford County Hospital,” they added.
“A woman was also treated for injuries not believed to be serious and conveyed by land ambulance to Hereford County Hospital.”
The Rail Accident Investigation Branch (RAIB) said it had sent a team of inspectors to Leominster “between a passenger train and an agricultural trailer at a user worked level crossing”, which require people to operate the crossing themselves.
“Our inspectors will gather evidence as part of the process of conducting a preliminary examination and a decision on whether an investigation will be launched will be taken in the coming days,” the spokesperson added.
British Transport Police said its enquiries were ongoing into the full circumstances of the incident.
The economy will have to be “strong enough” for the government to U-turn on winter fuel payment cuts, the business secretary has said.
Jonathan Reynolds, talking to Beth Rigby on the Electoral Dysfunction podcast, also said the public would have to “wait for the actual budget” to make an announcement on it.
You can listen to the full interview on tomorrow’s Electoral Dysfunction podcast.
Sir Keir Starmer said on Wednesday he would ease the cut to the winter fuel payment, which has been removed from more than 10 million pensioners this winter after it became means-tested.
He and his ministers had insisted they would stick to their guns on the policy, even just hours before Sir Keir revealed his change of heart at Prime Minister’s Questions.
But Mr Reynolds revealed there is more at play to be able to change the policy.
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Winter fuel payment cuts to be reversed
“The economy has got to be strong enough to give you the capacity to make the kind of decisions people want us to see,” he said.
“We want people to know we’re listening.
“All the prime minister has said is ‘look, he’s listening, he’s aware of it.
“He wants a strong economy to be able to deliver for people.
“You’d have to wait for the actual budget to do that.”
Read more:
Gordon Brown suggests people on top income tax rate should be excluded from winter fuel
Chancellor Rachel Reeves has committed to just one major fiscal event a year, meaning just one annual budget in the autumn.
Autumn budgets normally take place in October, with the last one at the end of the month.
If this year’s budget is around the same date it will leave little time for the extra winter fuel payments to be made as they are paid between November and December.
The Princess of Wales has smashed a bottle of whisky against the hull of a new Royal Navy warship as she officially named it HMS Glasgow.
Kate pressed a button triggering an arm holding the single malt which crashed into the grey stealth-like vessel during the ceremony.
Later at a reception, the Prince of Wales said of the warship: “It’s massive, I can see that’s where the future is going.
“It’s quite impressive, it’s a hell of a piece of kit – screams UK power.”
HMS Glasgow is the first of eight Type 26 anti-submarine frigates to be built in Glasgow.
The princess, who was wearing a navy blue outfit with white details and a matching hat, said at the event on the River Clyde: “I have the pleasure to name this ship HMS Glasgow, may God bless her and all who sail on her.”
Smashing a bottle to name a ship is a centuries-old tradition that is believed to bring the vessel good luck.
It is usually done with champagne but can sometimes be carried out with a bottle of whisky instead.
In 2014, Queen Elizabeth II christened HMS Queen Elizabeth in Rosyth Dockyard by smashing a bottle of single malt whisky to reflect the role Scotland played in its construction.
The Prince and Princess of Wales attend the naming ceremony. Pic: Andy Barr/The Scottish Sun/PA Wire
Pic: Andy Barr/The Scottish Sun/PA Wire
Kate was joined by Prince William for the naming ceremony held at the ship’s allotted place on the Clyde, where the warship’s design and build was led by BAE systems.
Simon Lister, BAE Systems managing director, told those gathered for the ceremony: “In a world that continues to be volatile, we cannot underestimate the importance of this ship and the work we are doing here.”
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Pic: Andy Barr/The Scottish Sun/PA Wire
Watching the moment were dozens of BAE Systems staff and their families and senior Royal Navy officers who applauded as the whisky bottle broke, an exclusive single malt made by the Clydeside Distillery.
A contribution from each bottle sold will be donated to HMS Glasgow’s chosen charity, Place2Be, supporting children’s mental health in the Glasgow area, which Kate supports as patron.
The ceremony began with a royal salute from the ship’s company for William and Kate, also known by their Scottish titles the Duke and Duchess of Rothesay.
Pic: Andrew Parsons/Kensington Palace
Second Sea Lord Vice Admiral Sir Martin Connell thanked the royal couple for their support and all those involved in the Type 26 endeavour.
He also hailed the latest ship as “a pure-bred anti-submarine warfare platform, setting the standard for naval warfare”, ready to “meet the global and geopolitical challenges of today”.
The second sea lord added: “HMS Glasgow and her class represent the next chapter of naval innovation, safeguarding the UK’s interests and contributing to national prosperity.”
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