English local elections: Starmer targets NHS pay in Labour launch
- Published
Sir Keir Starmer launches Labour's election campaign
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer has urged the government to give NHS staff a "proper pay rise", as he launched his party's campaign for May's local and mayoral elections in England.
He promised to "support our nurses", after a salary increase of 1% was suggested by ministers.
The Conservatives say this is a "real-terms" rise, but Labour argues that inflation will make it a pay cut.
NHS pay for England is decided nationally, rather than by councils.
But Sir Keir focused on this and other broad issues, saying voters would be concerned about "how Britain recovers" from the pandemic.
"Every vote in this election is a chance to show the Conservatives that the British people value our NHS and our key workers so much more than this government does," he said at a virtual launch event.
The 6 May elections will include polls for district and county councils, police and crime commissioners and city mayors, including in London.
Voting in Scottish Parliament and Welsh Assembly elections will take place on the same day.
The contests represent Sir Keir's first major test since becoming Labour leader last April, with last May's elections having been postponed because of coronavirus.
Opinion polls suggest the party - which, in 2019, experienced its worst general election result since the 1930s - is lagging behind the Conservatives nationally.
Sir Keir attempted to stress the political distance between himself and predecessor Jeremy Corbyn, saying that "this is a different Labour Party, under new leadership".
He accused the Conservatives of being "out of touch and out of ideas", adding: "After everything we've been through, we can't go back to business as usual".
A modern browser with JavaScript and a stable internet connection is required to view this interactive. More information about these elections
But he admitted that the local polls were "going to be tough", with activists "constrained" by Covid security rules on canvassing., external
Conservative Party co-chairwoman Amanda Milling said Labour politicians were "more interested in playing political games than delivering good services" and only her party had "a proven record of keeping bills down and providing better local services".
The government argues that the 1% NHS pay increase - coming when much of the public sector is experiencing a pay freeze - would be a real-terms rise, with inflation currently at 0.9%.
Appearing before the Commons Treasury Committee, Chancellor Rishi Sunak called the proposal "proportionate, fair and reasonable", and "based on affordability".
But Labour says a projected surge in inflation later this year will turn the 1% rise into a "real-terms loss" for NHS staff.