by Rishi Sunak has been accused of being “out of touch” with voters after he was caught laughing when a woman expressed her anger about NHS’s intractable waiting lists.
Cameras captured the shocking exchange as the Prime Minister confronted voters about the state of the health service during a walk in Winchester town centre.
Mr Sunak burst out laughing as the Winchester woman – a former NHS worker – told him he could stop the problems and “get it back to the way it was”.
Labor blasted the uncomfortable clip and said it showed the Tory leader “has no idea of the misery NHS patients are going through”.
The woman first confronted Mr Sunak about long waiting times for hospital treatment – telling him: “My daughter spent seven hours waiting.”
Mr Sunak blamed striking junior doctors for the backlog, telling the woman that the recent drop in waiting times “shows we can make progress when there are no strikes”.
And in an exchange caught on camera during her walk in the south blue wall constituency, Ms Sunak laughed as she said: “You could bring it back to the way it used to be … where, if there was a problem you, you could go to the hospital.”
Mr Sunak appeared to turn his back on the woman when she started talking about her daughter. But he then turned to continue the conversation – saying he was “sorry to hear” her daughter spent seven hours in A&E.
The PM reiterated that all NHS strikes have been resolved, apart from the industrial dispute with junior doctors. She said she “looked forward” and shook his hand.
Sir Keir Starmer said Mr Sunak’s laugh at a voter worried about the NHS “reinforces what people think” about the government.
The Labor leader said: “The prime minister doesn’t understand what people are going through… We get to grips with our plan – we don’t laugh and walk away.”
Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, also said the encounter shows Mr Sunak has “no idea of the misery” NHS patients are going through. “When Sunak asks for his vote later this year, he’ll get a taste of his own medicine.”
Liberal Democrat Christine Jardine said they are “laughing in the face of a former health worker” as they try to “credibly” explain NHS problems.
She said: “Not even a touch begins to describe Rishi Sunak’s view of the NHS. Either the prime minister doesn’t care or he doesn’t get it.”
Labor has maintained its narrow lead over the Conservatives in key blue-collar seats, a new Redfield & Wilton poll has found. The survey has Sir Keir’s party on 31 per cent ahead of Mr Sunak’s on 30 per cent in 42 southern England seats won by the Tories in 2019.
Mr Sunak has pledged to reduce waiting lists as one of his five big promises ahead of the 2024 general election, which he plans to call in the “second half” of the year.
Around 6.39 million patients across England were waiting for routine hospital treatment in November, figures show, which is down slightly from 6.44 million in October. But the NHS is still failing to meet most of its key performance targets despite the overall fall, the data shows.
Just over 11,000 people in England were waiting more than 18 months to start normal hospital treatment at the end of November, up from just over 10,500 at the end of October.
A&E times also worsened, with 69.4 per cent of patients in England seen within four hours in December, down from 69.7 per cent in November and against a target set for March this year of 76 per cent first.
Meanwhile, a key supporter of Boris Johnson claimed that “at least” 29 Conservative MPs have submitted letters of no confidence against Mr Sunak.
Andrea Jenkyns – a Tory backbencher who has been a constant critic of Mr Sunak – said more than two dozen colleagues had told her they had submitted letters.
“Talking about letters is always nonsense – only Sir Graham [Brady, chair of the 1922 committee] he knows how much is inside,” said one Sunak ally The Independent. The former Tory said it was “madness” to replace the general election with another leader.
The fresh row came when Mr Sunak urged colleagues to “crack on” with the Rwanda bill in the House of Lords – saying he wanted to get the deportation flights “up and running” as soon as possible.
In a pointed message to the Lords, the Prime Minister said on Friday: “I would strongly advise them to get on with it because we all just want to do this … the country is fed up and frustrated with the fantastic progress . round on this matter.”
However, peers have rejected the Tory leader’s “outlandish” claim to speed up approval. The upper chamber has approved a two-month timetable for examining the bill – it refuses to move faster than usual.
