Recovery period after doctors’ strikes is concern for NHS, says Streeting | NHS

Wes Streeting has said the NHS is “coping with” strikes by resident doctors, but he worries about its recovery as industrial action enters its final day.

The Health Secretary told the Observer that the NHS was managing to overcome the five-day action by British Medical Association doctors in England, but he was concerned about the period that followed when the health service was grappling with cases of flu.

Streeting has taken a tough stance against the strikes. He offered resident doctors a deal providing more training places, but without additional money, which was refused.

His stance was criticized by Andrea Egan, Unison’s new general secretary, calling it an “unacceptable” approach to striking workers.

Streeting said: “I think the NHS is coping. The period that worries me the most is the post-strike period when we have to try and get the service back. This now falls at a time of year which is the busiest for the NHS.

“I don’t think doctors are selfish and don’t care about nurses and other healthcare professionals, but the BMA’s position can be quite harsh and uncompromising.”

His comments were part of a lengthy interview in which he spoke about the economy, Europe and his own ambitions, while stressing he was not interested in Keir Starmer’s job.

In a sign that he is one of the most pro-European members of government, Streeting said a deeper economic partnership with Europe would be the best way to increase growth.

He also said that any economic partnership between the UK and the EU “cannot lead to a return to freedom of movement”, leaving the door open to a possible customs union.

The government has ruled out a customs union and a return to free movement as it seeks to deepen trade relations with Brussels, but some cabinet members would like Number 10 to go further in its ambitions to improve the economy.

Streeting suggested he would like to go further than the current reset with the EU, which he called a “good start”.

“We have suffered a considerable economic shock in leaving the European Union. I am really uncomfortable with the level of taxation in this country. We are asking a lot of individual taxpayers, we are asking a lot of businesses. We have a level of debt that we have to take very seriously,” he said. “The best way for us to increase the growth of our economy is to deepen our trade relations with the EU.

“The reason why leaving the EU hit us so hard as a country is because of the huge economic benefits of the single market and the customs union. This is a country and a government that wants a closer trading relationship with Europe.”

Streeting, who is seen as a leading contender to be the next Labor leader, described recent press conferences held by Starmer’s allies several weeks ago – amid speculation he was preparing to replace the prime minister – as a “bizarre move” and questioned why anyone would want to take the top job.

However, he also seemed cautious not to rule himself out, saying: “I’m diplomatically dodging the question to avoid any new silly soap operas we’ve had in recent months.” Asked if he thought Britain would be prepared to vote for a gay prime minister, he said: “Yes, but I want to make it clear that this is not a pitch or a job application. The prime minister has my absolute support.”

Anna Turley, the Labor Party chairwoman, was asked on Sky News’ Sunday Morning show with Trevor Phillips about Starmer’s low approval ratings and she insisted he would still be prime minister next Christmas. She said it was “absurd” that he would have to resign if the local election results were bad for Labor in May and said the whole team was “united behind him”.

Streeting said he and former deputy prime minister Angela Rayner had joked about rumors they had struck a deal to make a joint bid in the event of a vacancy, and insisted that was nothing like reality.

“The last time I had a conversation with Angela was when I went up to her in the voting hall and said, ‘I hear you’re putting together a new cabinet, I’ve always liked the idea of the Foreign Office, so count me in’ and she turned around and responded as quickly as a flash, ‘oh no, you’re late, haven’t you heard I’m carrying on, I’m a celebrity?'” he said. “We had a good laugh about it because there is so much gossip and unnecessary chatter.”

He also suggested he had a different stance to some other cabinet members, including the prime minister, on banning social media for under-16s.

“We need to think much more radically about how we help young people navigate this new online world,” he says. “[It] has been a place of harassment, intimidation, sometimes misogyny, even radicalization. The challenge with social media is that it is increasingly antisocial. That’s why I think what Australia is doing is interesting and we should follow the results closely and see if it’s something we should consider doing here.