Fix ‘broken’ NHS to get more sick people back into work, Starmer tells Sunak

Sir Keir Starmer, the Labour leader, is pictured today during a visit to a housing development in Derby – Darren Staples /Getty Images Europe

Rishi Sunak should focus on fixing the “broken” NHS and reducing waiting lists if he wants to get more people back into work, Sir Keir Starmer has argued.

Sir Keir said the Government needed to take action rather than just “talking about the problem” as he responded to a major speech by Mr Sunak on welfare reform.

Mr Sunak pledged to change the UK’s “sick note culture so that the default becomes what work you can do, not what you can’t”.

New measures to reduce the number of economically inactive people include benefits being stopped if someone does not comply with conditions set by a work coach and a promise to “tighten” the work capability assessment (WCA).

But Sir Keir argued the focus should be on improving the NHS, telling broadcasters: “Labour has for a long time been urging measures to be taken to deal with the problem of people getting back into work because it is inhibiting their ability to work, it is also restraining us in terms of what we can do with the economy.

“That is why we have had a laser focus on how we get waiting lists down, because the biggest problem here frankly is that the Government has broken the NHS, and waiting lists are up at 7.6 million.

“That is where the focus needs to be. This announcement this morning from the Government is a reheated version of something they announced seven years ago. It is no good talking about the problem, what we need is action to actually make the issue actually be dealt with.”

You can follow the latest updates below.

04:00 PM BST

That is all for today…

Thank you for joining me for today’s politics live blog.

I will be back on Monday morning.

03:34 PM BST

Noisy Tube passengers will be banned, Tory London mayoral candidate promises

Passengers listening to music out loud or taking calls on speakerphone could be thrown off the Tube under plans from the Conservative London mayoral candidate.

Susan Hall has announced that she would update the Transport for London (TfL) conditions of carriages to include a ban on playing loud music and videos.

TfL users who take calls on speakerphone or play music out loud would risk a fine of up to £1,000 or being removed from the network as part of an anti-social behaviour crackdown.

You can read the full story here.

03:13 PM BST

Khan holds 19 point lead over Hall in London mayor race

Sadiq Khan holds a 19 point lead over Susan Hall in the race for London City Hall, according to a new YouGov survey.

A poll conducted between April 9-17 puts the Labour incumbent on 46 per cent and his Tory challenger on 27 per cent.

Mr Khan was down by three points and Ms Hall was up by three points when compared to YouGov’s previous survey in February.

The Green candidate was on 9 per cent, Lib Dem 8 per cent and Reform UK 6 per cent:

02:58 PM BST

Senior Tory MP: Sunak welfare reforms a ‘great step forward’

Damian Green, the former Cabinet minister and the chairman of the One Nation Group of Tory MPs, welcomed Rishi Sunak’s welfare reforms.

He said the measures represented a “great step forward” and argued “we can’t go on the way we are”.

He said: “We are right to support the most vulnerable in society when they need us the most. But we can’t go on the way we are. The UK’s welfare budget is increasing at an unsustainable rate, largely driven by the increasing numbers of people claiming ill-health and disability benefits.

“While we must support those who are genuinely struggling, today’s announcements are a great step forward towards a more efficient benefits system that will prioritise those who actually need help.

“Benefits aren’t and must never be a chosen way of life; everyone who can work, should. It is the right thing for our economy and hard-working taxpayers.”

02:46 PM BST

Telegraph readers weigh in on Sunak’s welfare reforms

Rishi Sunak this morning outlined his plan to make it harder for people to get signed off work and to reduce what he described as the “spiralling” size of the UK’s welfare bill.

The Prime Minister also set out proposals to get tougher on benefits fraudsters.

Telegraph readers have been weighing in on the proposals:

02:40 PM BST

Farage suggests Tories cannot be trusted to deliver Sunak welfare reforms

Nigel Farage said Rishi Sunak’s plans to make work pay and end the UK’s “sick note culture” are “right” but he suggested the Tories could not be trusted to deliver.

The honorary president of Reform UK tweeted: “The [Rishi Sunak] proposals on making work pay are right.

“But in 14 years of Tory government, these problems have all got worse — so why would we trust them to fix it?”

02:04 PM BST

SNP mocked for replacing flagship green target with ‘accelerated’ plan

Humza Yousaf and his Green coalition partners have been mocked after insisting they were pursuing an “accelerated response to the climate emergency” by abandoning a flagship greenhouse gas target.

The First Minister admitted that his government was scrapping Nicola Sturgeon’s promise to cut Scotland’s carbon emissions by 75 per cent by 2030 after experts warned it was unachievable.

He said it would be replaced by “an accelerated climate change proposal and plan”, including a controversial measure to impose a new carbon tax on large country estates.

Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, said during First Minister’s Questions: “Only Humza Yousaf could believe that slamming on the brakes – because that is exactly what the SNP is doing this afternoon – is an acceleration.”

You can read the full story here.

01:49 PM BST

Sturgeon urges waiting media to ‘give my neighbours some peace’

Nicoal Sturgeon urged the media waiting outside the Glasgow home she shares with Peter Murrell to “give my neighbours some peace”.

The former first minister of Scotland told reporters: “There is absolutely nothing I can say given the circumstances so I’m now going to go out for a walk if that’s alright with you.

“And I know you’ve got jobs to do but I’d also ask you maybe to give my neighbours some peace – there’s nothing going to be happening here.”

01:32 PM BST

Pictured: Starmer and Rayner visit a housing development in Derby today

Sir Keir Starmer and Angela Rayner are pictured today during a visit to a housing development in Derby – Joe Giddens/PA

01:19 PM BST

Nicola Sturgeon says situation ‘incredibly difficult’ after husband charged

Nicola Sturgeon said her husband Peter Murrell being charged by police in connection with embezzlement of funds from the SNP had been “incredibly difficult”.

Speaking to reporters outside her Glasgow home, the former first minister of Scotland was asked how the development had impacted her.

She said: “It has been incredibly difficult but that is not the main issue here.

“I can’t say anymore, I am not going to say anymore, and if you don’t mind, I’d also really appreciate, I’m still quite a new driver so please try not to distract me when I am driving away.”

Nicola Sturgeon is pictured today talking to the media outside her Glasgow home – Andrew Milligan/PA

Her comments came as Humza Yousaf, her successor as first minister, said the SNP was in “shock” at the news.

The police probe into the SNP’s funding and finances remains ongoing.

Mr Murrell, the SNP’s former chief executive, was taken into custody yesterday morning and was charged in the early evening. He was then released from police custody. It is understood he has resigned his SNP membership.

01:14 PM BST

SNP ‘shocked’ after Sturgeon’s husband charged, says Yousaf

Humza Yousaf said the SNP was in “shock” after Nicola Sturgeon’s husband Peter Murrell was charged last night in connection with embezzlement of funds from the party.

Mr Yousaf insisted he was focused on his role as Scottish First Minister but described the latest development in the police probe into the SNP’s funding and finances as “serious”.

He told broadcasters: “These are serious, serious developments and as per the police statement we now know that an individual has been charged, Peter has been charged, where the allegation [is] of embezzlement from party funds.

“That is a really serious matter indeed. Many people in the SNP, right across Scottish politics will be shocked by the news.

“This is an ongoing investigation. The police, the crown have a job to do, just as I have a job to do as First Minister and that job of course is ensuring that I support business, that I help households throughout the cost of living crisis, that I help to cut waiting times in the NHS, that I advance the cause of independence. That is the job that you can imagine I am focused on.”

12:45 PM BST

Fix ‘broken’ NHS to get more sick people back into work, Starmer tells Sunak

Rishi Sunak should focus on fixing the “broken” NHS and reducing waiting lists if he wants to get more people back into work, Sir Keir Starmer has argued.

Responding to the Prime Minister’s speech on welfare reform, the Labour leader told broadcasters: “Labour has for a long time been urging measures to be taken to deal with the problem of people getting back into work because it is inhibiting their ability to work, it is also restraining us in terms of what we can do with the economy.

“That is why we have had a laser focus on how we get waiting lists down, because the biggest problem here frankly is that the Government has broken the NHS, and waiting lists are up at 7.6 million.

12:30 PM BST

Restraint ‘has to be the way forward’ in Middle East, says Starmer

Sir Keir Starmer said restraint “has to be the way forward” in the Iran-Israel standoff.

The Labour leader told broadcasters: “I am deeply concerned about the prospect of escalation. Escalation of the conflict in the Middle East is in nobody’s interest and so it is very important therefore that everybody urges restraint on all sides.

“More than that, we really need that ceasefire in Gaza now straightaway so that hostages can come out, desperately needed aid needs to get in – desperately, desperately needed – and we need, if you like, a foot in the door for the political process to peace.

“I have been concerned about escalation for a long time now. Restraint has to be the way forward.”

12:24 PM BST

Pictured: Sunak and Stride try their hand at key cutting during visit to Timpson

Rishi Sunak and Mel Stride are pictured today during a visit to a branch of Timpson in central London – Yui Mok/PA

12:17 PM BST

No ‘concrete answers’ from Sunak on welfare reform, says Labour

Labour claimed Rishi Sunak had only offered “sweeping questions and reheated proposals” on welfare reform.

Alison McGovern, the acting shadow work and pensions secretary, said: “After 14 years of Tory misery, Rishi Sunak has set out his failed Government’s appalling record for Britain: a record number of people locked out of work due to long-term sickness and an unsustainable spiralling benefits bill.

“Rather than a proper plan to get Britain working, all we heard today were sweeping questions and reheated proposals without any concrete answers.

“It’s Labour who have the long-term plan to Britain working again. We will drive down NHS waiting lists, reform social security and make work pay.”

12:13 PM BST

Downing Street: Premier League and FA must explain decision to axe replays

The Premier League and the Football Association must explain why scrapping FA Cup replays from next season is in the interests of fans, Downing Street said.

Asked if Rishi Sunak was disappointed by the decision, the Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “David and Goliath fixtures are a part of the magic of the cup and we know that replays have been a welcome source of income for smaller clubs throughout the years.

“These are, however, decisions for the footballing authorities. But clearly it is incumbent on the FA and Premier League to explain this decision and why it is in the interests of fans.”

12:09 PM BST

‘One size fits all approach’ of welfare system must change, says No 10

The UK’s current welfare system takes a “one size fits all approach” and that has to change, No 10 said.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “The Prime Minister is very clear that it is important that we have a safety net and we have support for those that need it.

“But we have a welfare system which we have seen borne out in the figures post-pandemic that is taking a one size fits all approach and writing off too many people from work rather than being focused on helping people and supporting them into the work that they can be doing.

“That is what we are seeking to address.”

12:04 PM BST

No 10 calls for ‘de-escalation’ in Israel-Iran standoff

Downing Street said the UK continued to “urge de-escalation” in the stand-off between Israel and Iran.

The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “We continue to urge de-escalation and the Prime Minister said just this morning that what we want to see is calm heads prevail across the region.

“He spoke to prime minister [Benjamin] Netanyahu previously. He has been clear that significant escalation is not in anyone’s interest.

“But at the same time we have also said that Israel has a right to self-defence and he repeated that again this morning.”

No 10 said Mr Sunak had not spoken to Mr Netanyahu today.

12:01 PM BST

Lib Dems: Sunak blaming the British people for Government’s failures

Sir Ed Davey claimed Rishi Sunak was “attempting to blame the British people for his own Government’s failures” as he responded to the PM’s welfare reform speech.

The leader of the Liberal Democrats said: “This was a desperate speech from a Prime Minister mired in sleaze and scandal.

“Millions of people are stuck on NHS waiting lists, unable to get a GP appointment or struggling to access mental health support.

“Rishi Sunak is attempting to blame the British people for his own Government’s failures on the economy and the NHS and it simply won’t wash.”

11:30 AM BST

Reader poll: Should Sunak strip GPs of power to sign people off work?

Rishi Sunak today unveiled his plan to strip GPs of their power to sign people off work as part of a wider effort to reform the nation’s welfare system.

The Prime Minister said the Government will “test shifting the responsibility for assessment from GPs and giving it to specialist work and health professionals who have the dedicated time to provide an objective assessment of someone’s ability to work and the tailored support they need to do so”.

The premier’s proposals have already sparked a backlash from some quarters. What do you think of the plan? You can have your say in our reader poll below:

11:11 AM BST

Sunak accused of ‘pushing hostile rhetoric’ over ‘sick note culture’

The British Medical Association (BMA) has urged Rishi Sunak to avoid using a “hostile rhetoric on sick note culture” following his welfare reform announcements.

Dr Katie Bramall-Stainer, chairwoman of GPC England, the BMA’s GP committee, said: “Fit notes are carefully considered before they are written, and a GP will sign their patient off work only if they are not well enough to undertake their duties.

“We do recognise the health benefits of good work, and that most people do want to work, but when they are unwell, people need access to prompt care.

“With a waiting list of 7.5 million – not including for mental health problems – delays to diagnostics, and resulting pressures on GP practices, patients cannot get the treatment they need to be able to return to work.

“So rather than pushing a hostile rhetoric on ‘sick note culture’, perhaps the Prime Minister should focus on removing what is stopping patients from receiving the physical and mental healthcare they need, which in turn prevents them from going back to work.”

10:58 AM BST

Disability charity accuses Sunak of ‘full-on assault on disabled people’

A disability equality charity has labelled Rishi Sunak’s proposed welfare reforms “a full-on assault on disabled people”.

James Taylor, director of strategy at Scope, said calls were “pouring into our helpline” from concerned disabled people.

Mr Taylor said: “This feels like a full-on assault on disabled people. These proposals are dangerous and risk leaving disabled people destitute. In a cost-of-living crisis looking to slash disabled people’s income by hitting PIP is a horrific proposal.

“Life costs more for disabled people. Threatening to take away the low amount of income PIP provides to disabled people who face £950 a month extra costs isn’t going to solve the problem of economic inactivity. Sanctions and ending claims will only heap more misery on people at the sharp end of our cost-of-living crisis.”

10:38 AM BST

Starmer ‘hiding behind his team’ on Rayner row, claims Sunak

Rishi Sunak claimed Sir Keir Starmer was “hiding behind his team” on the Angela Rayner row.

Sir Keir has said his team has seen the advice Ms Rayner received on the sale of her council house a decade ago but that he had not read it and does not intend to do so.

Asked if Ms Rayner should step aside over the row and police investigation, Mr Sunak told reporters this morning: “I think the question actually is for Keir Starmer… as to why he is refusing to himself read the advice that seems to exist, why it has not been published and make a decision on this.

“I think that actually just displays a lack of leadership and weakness on his part. There clearly are questions to answer, that is clear for everyone to see and rather than hiding behind his team, just actually read the advice himself, publish the advice and clear this up.”

Greater Manchester Police announced last week that it was investigating Ms Rayner. She has been accused of wrongly declaring her permanent address on the electoral register, which is an offence.

Ms Rayner has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, describing the claims against her as a “stream of smears” by the Tories.

10:34 AM BST

PM announces tougher measures to tackle benefit fraudsters

Rishi Sunak said a planned new fraud Bill would expand the Department for Work and Pensions’ powers in tackling benefit fraudsters.

The Prime Minister said: “There’s a little bit of a difference and a gap between how HMRC is able to go after tax fraudsters and how DWP is able to go after welfare fraudsters. And we just want to make sure that DWP has all the same powers and tools that HMRC has.

“There’s a range of things, there’s information-gathering powers, there’s the ability to make arrests and seizures, but there’s also introducing a new civil penalty so it can capture a wider group of people in the way HMRC does, in the way that DWP is a little bit limited at the moment in what it can do.”

10:21 AM BST

Sunak warns Lords there can be ‘no more delay’ on passage of Rwanda Bill

Rishi Sunak has told the House of Lords there can be “no more delay” to the passage of his flagship Rwanda Bill through Parliament.

The Prime Minister promised the Bill will clear Parliament on Monday next week because MPs and peers will “sit there and vote until it is done”.

Asked if the migrant deportation flights will take off by the end of the summer, Mr Sunak said: “The very simple thing here is, is that repeatedly everyone has tried to block us from getting this Bill through and yet again you saw it this week, you saw Labour peers blocking us again.

Rishi Sunak, the Prime Minister, is pictured today delivering a speech in central London – Yui Mok /PA

“That is enormously frustrating. Everyone’s patience with this has run thin, mine certainly has.

“So our intention now is to get this done on Monday. No more prevarication, no more delay, we are going to get this done on Monday and we will sit there and vote until it is done.”

Mr Sunak would not be drawn on the timetable for flights getting off the ground.

10:00 AM BST

PM calls for ‘calm heads to prevail’ in Iran-Israel standoff

Rishi Sunak has called for “calm heads to prevail” in the Israel-Iran standoff as he warned against a “significant escalation” in the region.

Israel launched a retaliatory strike overnight against Iran with explosions reported near a military base. It comes after Iran launched a direct attack on Israel last weekend.

Asked for his response to the latest developments, the Prime Minister said: “As you would appreciate it is a developing situation. It wouldn’t be right for me to speculate until the facts become clear and we are working to confirm the details together with allies.

“We have condemned Iran’s reckless and dangerous barrage of missiles against Israel on Saturday and Israel absolutely has the right to self defence.

“But as I said to prime minister Netanyahu when I spoke to him last week and more generally, significant escalation is not in anyone’s interest. What we want to see is calm heads prevail across the region.”

09:54 AM BST

PM rejects claim he ‘lacks compassion’ with benefits crackdown

Rishi Sunak rejected claims that he was “lacking compassion” by cracking down on the welfare system as he argued the “exact opposite is true”.

Concluding his speech in London, the Prime Minister said: “There is nothing compassionate about leaving a generation of young people to sit alone in the dark before a flickering screen, watching as their dreams slip further from reach every passing day.”

09:51 AM BST

Sunak announces new crackdown on benefit fraudsters

Job seekers who fail to comply with instructions from their work coach will lose their benefits entirely after one year, Rishi Sunak said.

The Prime Minister said: “We will now look at options to strengthen our regime. Anyone who doesn’t comply with the conditions set by their work coach, such as accepting an available job, will after 12 months have their claim closed and their benefits removed entirely.”

Mr Sunak said the welfare system should be a “safety net, never a lifestyle choice”.

The Prime Minister also announced new anti-fraud legislation will be brought forward to give the Department for Work and Pensions similar powers to HM Revenue and Customs so that benefit fraudsters are treated as harshly as people who commit tax fraud.

He said: “We can’t allow fraudsters to exploit the natural compassion and generosity of the British people.”

09:47 AM BST

Sunak: Default should be ‘what work you can do, not what you can’t’

Rishi Sunak said: “We don’t just need to change the sick note, we need to change the sick note culture so that the default becomes what work you can do, not what you can’t.”

The Prime Minister said a new system will provide people with “easy and rapid access” to work and health support.

The Government will “test shifting the responsibility for assessment [for sick notes] from GPs and giving it to specialist work and health professionals who have the dedicated time to provide an objective assessment as to someone’s ability to work and the tailored support they need to do so”.

09:43 AM BST

Sick note culture is ‘economically unsustainable’, warns Sunak

Rishi Sunak said the current number of people off work because of ill health was “economically unsustainable” as he warned of the “spiralling” cost of the nation’s benefits bill.

Delivering a speech in London, the Prime Minister said: “The situation as it is is economically unsustainable. We can’t lose so many people from our workforce whose contributions could help to drive growth.

“And there is no sustainable way to achieve our goal of bringing down migration levels which are just too high without giving more of our owqn people the skills and incentives and support to get off welfare and back into work.

“And we can’t afford such a spiralling increase in the welfare bill and the irresponsible burden that will place on this and future generations of taxpayers.”

Mr Sunak said the current cost of benefits for people with a disability or health condition was £69 billion and that is forecast to grow by 50 per cent over the next four years without reform.

09:38 AM BST

Sunak: ‘Something has gone wrong’ with number of people signed off sick

Rishi Sunak said it was a “fundamental duty of government to make sure that hard work is always rewarded” as he argued “you don’t get anything in life without hard work”.

The Prime Minister said he believed that is also the “only way to build a more prosperous country”.

Mr Sunak said that since the coronavirus pandemic “something has gone wrong” with more people becoming economically inactive and more people being signed off work due to mental ill health.

He said it is progress that people can now “talk openly” about mental health challenges and he would “never dismiss or downplay” the issue.

“But just as it would be wrong to dismiss this growing trend, so it would be wrong to merely sit back and accept it,” he said.

09:34 AM BST

Sunak on a ‘moral mission’ to get more people back into work

Rishi Sunak is now delivering his major speech on welfare reform.

He said the Government is on a “moral mission” to get more people back into work.

The Prime Minister said that the “value of work is central” to his vision for welfare reform.

09:22 AM BST

Smoking ban will help save NHS, suggests Sir David Davis

Sir David Davis said Rishi Sunak’s smoking ban will help to stop the NHS “swallowing the entire economy” in the decades to come.

The former Brexit secretary voted in favour of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill earlier this week as the legislation cleared its first big hurdle in the House of Commons.

Sir David told the BBC’s The Today podcast: “If you brought tobacco into being today, a brand new product, what do you think the chances are it would get past any of the health barriers? None, and that’s the point. We’re talking about something that is ridiculously addictive. The simple truth is, is [it] worth tens of thousands of lives? Not in a month of Sundays.

“The strongest argument against it was the practicality argument, how on earth does a shopkeeper distinguish between 34 and 34 and one day old? And of course that won’t work that well. But if this policy only works 50 per cent effective, and an awful lot of government policies of all governments are only partially effective, it’s still tens of thousands of lives.

“You hear people say this is not conservative, I love being lectured by people who arrived at it after 40 years of doing something else. One of the things about conservatism is it’s survived for 200 years because it’s stayed up with the ages, it’s dealt with the issues of the day, whether it’s an argument about the Corn Laws or an argument of public health today.

“This is one of the biggest health issues there is… If you don’t do this, the National Health Service will swallow the entire economy in another 30 years.”

09:12 AM BST

Truss gave low taxes a ‘bad name’, claims David Davis

Sir David Davis claimed Liz Truss’s premiership had given low taxes a “bad name”.

The former Brexit secretary told the BBC’s The Today podcast: “When Liz was running for leader, a lot of people, three or four dozen people, called me up and said ‘you must vote for her, you’re a low tax Tory’. And I said ‘nope’.

“And they said ‘why not?’ and I said ‘because she is going to give low taxes a bad name’.

“And that is exactly what happened. About half of them rang me up afterwards saying ‘how did you know?’.”

Sir David claimed Ms Truss was a “late convert” to low tax conservatism.

“Late converts are often rather more fanatical about things than those of us who’ve been thinking for 50 years about it,” he said.

08:54 AM BST

‘Enough is enough’ on ‘skyrocketing’ benefits bill, says minister

Mel Stride said “enough is enough” as the Work and Pensions Secretary vowed to tackle “skyrocketing” benefits spending.

Ahead of a major speech on welfare reform this morning by Rishi Sunak, Mr Stride told LBC: “If you look at issues like long-term sickness, disability, and you add up all the costs of all the benefits there, you get to about £69 billion.

“The most worrying aspect of all of this… is the increased cost going forward. So all the forecasts are for these benefits to be skyrocketing upwards in time. And that is something that we must address. Enough is enough on that one is my message.

“So what you will be hearing from the Prime Minister is that we will be taking measures to make sure that welfare spend is under control.”

08:42 AM BST

Tory brand is ‘in the bin’ and even Churchill could not save them, claims Farage

The Conservative Party’s brand is “absolutely in the bin” and not even Winston Churchill could lead the current version of the Tories to victory at the general election, Nigel Farage has claimed.

The honorary president of Reform UK pointed to Ipsos polling numbers published yesterday which showed the Tories had sunk to their lowest level of voter support since the late 1970s while satisfaction with Rishi Sunak had tied the all-time low mark for a prime minister.

Mr Farage said history has shown that “things can turn around” but he believed Mr Sunak would not be able to recover.

He told GB News: “I think if Winston Churchill came back and led the Conservative Party it wouldn’t really help their ratings very much. My belief is it’s the Conservative brand that’s really taking the hit.

“14 years and people feel very let down. Nobody quite believes anything they come up with and say. And they keep changing leader anyway. How on earth would getting rid of Rishi Sunak after the May 2 elections improve their prospects?

“I believe that the Tory brand is absolutely in the bin. I don’t think Rishi can recover.”

08:27 AM BST

We are not demonising people with mental health problems, says Mel Stride

Mel Stride denied the Government was “demonising” people with mental health problems with its drive to end the UK’s “sick note culture”.

Sarah Hughes, the chief executive of the charity Mind, said the Government’s rhetoric on the issue was “harmful” and “inaccurate”.

She told The Times: “Demonising people for failures of the systems meant to support them is incredibly unhelpful.”

Asked if Ms Hughes was right in her assessment, Mr Stride, the Work and Pensions Secretary, told Times Radio: “She is not right in the sense that of course we are not out there demonising people, far from it.

“This Government has been part of a general conversation about mental health in which I think we have arrived broadly at a much better place in many respects.”

Mr Stride said there needed to be a “grown up conversation” about mental health and the workplace as he argued “we are too readily perhaps medicalising or labelling what in the past would have been seen as the general ups and downs of the human condition as something more serious than that”.

08:22 AM BST

Ministers on a ‘crusade’ to get more people back into work, says Stride

Mel Stride said the Government is on a “crusade” to get more people back into work as Rishi Sunak vows to end the UK’s “sick note culture”.

The Work and Pensions Secretary said the Government will “really help” people who are capable of working do so but it recognised that there will be some people with “very significant mental health issues for whom work will not be appropriate”.

He told Times Radio: “But we also recognise there are those who can benefit from work and at the moment my view and my mission, my crusade, is to encourage more people into work, support them into work, so that they can benefit personally, communities can benefit and of course the economy can benefit as well.”

08:07 AM BST

Stride: ‘Good work is really good for people’s mental health’

Mel Stride said “good work is really good for people’s mental health” as he set the table for a major speech on welfare reform by Rishi Sunak this morning.

The Prime Minister will use an address in a few hours to vow to end Britain’s “sick note culture”, unveiling a plan to strip GPs of their power to sign people off work.

Mr Stride, the Work and Pensions Secretary, told Times Radio: “The important point here is that what we know is that good work is really good for people’s mental health.

“So I have a real mission here to do whatever I can to make people that particularly those who are perhaps feeling depressed or have mental health conditions etc can benefit from work.”

08:04 AM BST

Israel has a right to defend itself, says Mel Stride

Israel has a right to defend itself, Mel Stride said this morning, after US officials reportedly confirmed an Israeli missile had hit Iran in the early hours of this morning.

The Work and Pensions Secretary told Times Radio: “I think what we should say first and foremost of course is this is an evolving situation. These are unconfirmed reports as at the moment.

“Where we are as a Government is recognising very clearly that Israel has a right to defend itself, indeed we joined in with others in doing exactly that when Iran made that very significant attack on Israel at the weekend.

“At the same time though we are pressing our Israeli allies and others in the region to really work hard towards de-escalation. So that is the important message that we have at the moment but obviously we need to wait to see how events unfold and exactly what has happened.”

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