Labour’s Deputy Leader Angela Rayner has branded the Government’s pay cut for hundreds of thousands of NHS staff in the Midlands the “ultimate insult” and a “kick in the teeth” for our NHS heroes ahead of a virtual visit today (17^th March) with hospital staff in Wolverhampton.

The visit comes as figures show over 225,000 NHS staff in the Midlands will see their pay cut by hundreds of pounds under the Conservative Party’s plans. This figure includes 65,000 nurses, 5,000 midwives, 2,000 ambulance staff and 150,000 crucial support staff.

This pay cut of £174 for a nurse and £312 for a health visitor comes on top of a £2,300 real terms cut in the average salary of a nurse and health visitor since 2010.

On her visit to Wolverhampton, Rayner will promise staff that Labour will fight for a significant real-terms pay increase for NHS Covid heroes, setting out the clear choice in May’s elections between the Conservative Party that will cut NHS staff pay and hike taxes on millions of families, or a vote for Labour which is a vote to support our NHS and a vote for a pay rise for our NHS heroes.

Angela Rayner, Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, speaking ahead of her virtual visit to Wolverhampton, said:

“Boris Johnson gave Dominic Cummings a 40 percent pay rise, but now he want to cut the pay of our NHS heroes across the Midlands. After all they have done for us, this really is the ultimate insult and is a kick in the teeth for hard-working NHS staff.

“These elections in May are about our values as a country and how Britain recovers from this crisis. It’s about how our communities and public services are run and how we reward our frontline workers for all of their sacrifice and hard work during this pandemic.

“A vote for Labour in May is a vote to support our NHS and a vote for a pay rise for our NHS heroes. The choice in the West Midlands is between a Conservative candidate who wants to cut nurses’ pay, or a strong Labour voice in Liam Byrne who will back our NHS heroes.”