Politics

Rees-Mogg says nurses aren’t being paid enough because the NHS wastes money on ‘silly things’

Jacob Rees-Mogg has joined a long list of Tory MPs who have tried (and failed) to rationalise why we can’t pay our nurses more.

The head of the Royal College of Nursing (RCN) has urged the Prime Minister to do the “decent thing” as thousands of nurses stage their second walkout over pay.

Speaking on the picket line at the Royal Victoria Infirmary in Newcastle, RCN general secretary Pat Cullen said the strikes can be brought to an end if the Government moves on its current offer.

The RCN has warned that strikes could go on for six months unless an agreement can be reached.

The Government has said the pay rise demanded by the union is unaffordable.

It also claimed to have accepted in full the recommendations of the independent pay review body – even though the body isn’t independent at all.

Appearing on Politics Live, Rees-Mogg said nurses aren’t getting a pay rise because the NHS is squandering its cash on “silly things”, citing a 74 year-old man who was allegedly asked if he was pregnant.

Watch the bizarre clip in full below:

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Jack Peat

Jack is a business and economics journalist and the founder of The London Economic (TLE). He has contributed articles to VICE, Huffington Post and Independent and is a published author. Jack read History at the University of Wales, Bangor and has a Masters in Journalism from the University of Newcastle-upon-Tyne.

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