Latest news with #LordWinston
Times
7 days ago
- Politics
- Times
Striking doctors are really capitalists — and may have a point
P oor old Wes Streeting. Back in the opposition days, he used to tell us that the whole doctors' strike thing was so simple. It just needed everyone to sit down together like grown-ups, in exactly the way that the Tories weren't doing. Well, when he got the job himself, Wes did sit down with the junior doctors. And gave them pay rises totalling 28.9 per cent over three years — the highest in the public sector. And even agreed to stop calling them 'junior' doctors. And now they're back for more, Wes seems both hurt and baffled — the kid who can't understand how the bullies can be asking for his pocket money again, because he already handed it over last week. In truth there are plenty of reasons to denounce both the strikes and the BMA, as Lord Winston did last week, quitting the union after more than 60 years. It has indeed been captured by a hard-left clique. It is indeed seeking more money than anyone else, at a time when there's none to go round. And its campaign for 'pay restoration' is based on a measure of inflation that economists abandoned more than a decade ago.
The Sun
7 days ago
- Health
- The Sun
Money-grabbing BMA medics see patients as collateral damage in their single-minded pursuit of cash
Merciless cruelty of striking doctors YOU'LL never see a poor doctor. The old saying is borne out by the revelation that striking junior medics can earn as much as £100,000 a year. 2 2 Remember these are the grasping mercenaries Labour immediately handed a 28.9 per cent pay rise after the mayhem they caused last year. Sure enough the Marxist militants of the British Medical Association saw this as an invitation to strike for even more and slapped in a staggering 29 per cent pay demand. The union fanatics use despicable tactics to keep strikes secret from trusts, making it harder for them to plan cover. Dr Ross Nieuwoudt, co-leader of the BMA's resident doctors committee, told his members: 'You do NOT have a legal responsibility to disclose whether you are striking.'' This kind of merciless cruelty would make Arthur Scargill proud. Last-minute strikes are bad enough in any public service dispute but in the field of patient care this amounts to a dereliction of duty which the BMA must know will cost lives. Not all doctors go along with this madness. Almost half of the BMA membership didn't vote in the strike ballot. Professor Lord Winston, the IVF pioneer and highly respected medic, has understandably quit the union in disgust. As he says: 'Doctors need to be reminded that every time they have a patient in front of them, they have someone who is frightened and in pain. It's important they consider their own responsibility much more seriously.' Wise words. But totally lost on those money-grabbing BMA medics who see patients as collateral damage in their single-minded pursuit of cash. It makes Zero sense SIR Keir Starmer seems profoundly deaf to dire industry warnings that his crazy £800billion dash for Net Zero will cripple the economy. But will the PM listen to his own MPs? A commission headed by Labour MP Henry Tufnell says eco levies imposed on businesses to curb carbon emissions could destroy manufacturing jobs for good. These ideologically driven taxes are far higher than those imposed by other countries, undermining our global competitiveness. They could force giant oil and gas producers to move abroad. When Britain is mired in financial woes, it is ludicrous to be chasing unaffordable and unachievable climate dreams. When are you going to see sense and scrap Net Zero, PM?
Daily Mail
11-07-2025
- Health
- Daily Mail
IVF pioneer quits BMA over 'shameful' strikes - as resident doctors dismiss Wes Streeting's idea of trimming gold-plated pensions to fund eye-watering pay demands
IVF pioneer Lord Winston dramatically quit the BMA today warning that 'shameful' strikes could cause deaths. The renowned surgeon and fertility expert said resident doctors had 'lots of different options' instead of walking out later this month. The intervention came as resident doctors in England and Wales - previously known as junior doctors - dismissed a suggestion from Wes Streeting that their gold-plated pensions could be trimmed to fund pay demands. The BMA, which is both the professional association and trade union for medics, announced earlier this week that industrial action will happen on five consecutive days from 7am on July 25. Resident doctors were awarded a 5.4 per cent increase by the government, but are demanding an eye-watering 29.2 per cent to achieve 'full pay restoration' saying inflation has eroded their real-terms salaries. Resident doctors in England and Wales - previously known as junior doctors - have dismissed a suggestion from Wes Streeting (pictured) that their gold-plated pensions could be trimmed to fund pay demands Nurses are also balloting on strike action, raising the prospect of more huge disruption for patients. Speaking on Times Radio this morning, Labour peer Lord Winston said the action had prompted him to resign from the BMA after more than 60 years. 'There are lots of different options which they could do without striking,' the peer said. 'And I think it's shameful really that this has happened. Once the strike starts, no matter how innocent it seems, people will more than suffer. 'There's a chance of people dying, particularly when the weather is like it is at the moment, when there are all sorts of needs for quite urgent medical help. And it's really unacceptable to disrupt the services in this kind of way. 'The nurses have not done this. The nurses have certainly continued their work. And I think all credit to them.' Lord Winston said there was 'no question that doctors are undervalued'. 'On the other hand, in terms of what they've just done immediately after qualifying, they're not that badly paid,' he said. 'And I think it's very important to point out that the pay structure increases pretty rapidly as you advance. 'And also, it is a profession which is essentially a caring profession. We have a unique responsibility to people. People in front of us are vulnerable. 'It's very easy to manipulate them as a doctor. This is a form of manipulation. And I don't think it'll work because I think the public will be quite disgusted by what's happening.' The Health Secretary stressed yesterday that doctors had already enjoyed the highest settlements in the public sector two years running, and other workers were 'feeling the pinch' much more. 'Five days of strike action means patients and their families receiving the phone call they are currently dreading of being told that the operation or appointment they've been waiting for, often for far too long, is being cancelled and delayed,' Mr Streeting told MPs. 'I know how I'd feel if this happened to a member of my family currently waiting and I asked them to consider how they would feel if it happened to a member of theirs.' Speaking on LBC radio later, he said he was open to 'discussion' about the relationship between pension pots and take-home pay. Critics often point out that inflation-proof, final salary-linked pensions are a massive benefit in the public sector, that hardly exists in the private sector any more. Mr Streeting said: 'We've got this situation, where the pension pot, by the time people become consultants, is so big that consultants lobby us to change the tax rules, because they're taxed so heavily on the pensions because they're that valuable that they like, 'oh, I might as well not bother working. My pension's so valuable.' 'Now, if the BMA want to come to me and say, you know what? Given that challenge, we think we would rather have a slightly less generous pension in order to have higher pay today... those are the sorts of issues you can get into in a discussion. 'But I've offered to talk. They haven't taken me up. 'And that's one of the many reasons I think this is unreasonable.' However, in a blunt response, BMA pensions committee chair Dr Vishal Sharma said: 'To be clear, tax rules were not changed because doctors' pensions were 'too generous', but because the rules created a perverse situation where doctors were paying to work, forcing them to turn down extra work, cut hours and in some cases retire early – a problem that is still not completely solved. 'Meanwhile, as a result of real-terms cuts to doctors' pay over the last 17 years, the amount they receive in retirement has already been significantly reduced. 'Doctors need to have their pay restored in real terms - something that has already happened for those in comparable professions, but it would be completely unacceptable to raid their pensions to pay for it. 'The Health Secretary has not approached us about this proposal, but it is something we would outright reject. 'Such a proposal would not be a 'pay rise'; exchanging future pension for a small amount of additional cash now would leave doctors far worse off overall.'
