'If the Tories valued the NHS they would give nurses the pay rise they deserve and need'

This strike is to blame on the government: ministers failed the nursing profession and in doing so they failed patients

A nurse holds a sign demanding a fair government pay rise for healthcare workers during the protest (

Image: SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)

When nurses hold their first national strike, they will do so with a heavy heart.

They didn't want to be put in that position. Nor did they want to cause the disruption that industrial action would inevitably entail.

For months they have been calling on the government to heed their concerns about low pay and even lower morale. They repeatedly warned that the Conservatives were saying nurses were leaving the profession because of low pay and those who remained had to rely on food banks.

If the Tories valued the NHS, they would give nurses a pay rise they not only deserve, but urgently need.

Failing to do so will only divert more NHS workers, putting further pressure on services at a time when the waiting list in England is at record highs.

The responsibility for this strike lies with the government. Ministers have failed nursing and in doing so they are failing patients.

Defend the press

LBC reporter Charlotte Lynch said she was arrested on suspicion of conspiracy to commit a public nuisance (

Picture:

CHARLOTTE LYNCH/@LBC)

A free press depends on journalists being able to report without fear or intimidation.

This fundamental right is being endangered by the brutal tactics of the police.

Three journalists covering the Just Stop Oil protests have been detained by Hertfordshire Police despite having accreditation.

This is not an isolated incident. Recently a representative...