The Government made a last ditch attempt to stave off the rebellion, but it was not enough to persuade senior Tory backbenchers including former Cabinet ministers Chloe Smith and Damian Green to back down.
Victoria Atkins tells Laura Kuenssberg that “we want our doctors and nurses to be able to work in the NHS”, but stresses the impact of strikes on services.
The Health Secretary tells Sky News her aim is to move people out of hospital more quickly to free up capacity.
Monday’s speech and today’s announcement show them choosing their ground for the next election. And since Hunt may find no money for further tax cuts next spring, the option of a May general election is opening up.
We hurl abuse at here-today-gone-tomorrow politicians and their advisers, while the permanent state flourishes like a green bay tree.
Did those in power still believe it was right to terrify the nation into submissions with their fear-mongering campaigns warning us to stay away from our loved ones? And why did the rules constantly change and at very little notice?
That is the mission of ARC, the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship, which is holding its inaugural meeting in London. The public want a better, more productive and dignified economy, and a politics and a public culture which honours their values.
This perhaps reflects the fact that with the Speech happening on 7th November, there will be little actual time for legislation in the final session of Parliament in any case.
We set out our plan in Policy Exchange’s latest report, What do we Want from the King’s Speech, along with proposals for 13 other Bills.
On education, high speed rail and smoking, he will allow our country to pursue an ambitious and optimistic future for people, whoever they are and wherever they come from.
The elephant in the room is that, unless something significant changes, it is unlikely that the Prime Minister will be able to see through any these plans.
We now have a second effective vaccine in our arsenal. We have world-leading science capabilities to keep on innovating. We have the backing of the British public. Let’s get the job done.
Despite representing one of the greatest threats to public health, responsible for up to 43,000 deaths in the UK each year, efforts to reduce England’s air pollution have proven either politically fraught, ineffective or failed to consider the needs of those from deprived areas.