Rishi Sunak admits he has failed to cut NHS waiting lists

Rishi Sunak has admitted the government has failed on a pledge to cut NHS waiting lists in England.

The prime minister said the government had "not made enough progress" but that industrial action in the health service "has had an impact".

Mr Sunak made the comments in a TalkTV interview with Piers Morgan.

He was also challenged over his policy of sending some asylum seekers to Rwanda to deter people from crossing the Channel in small boats.

The government has introduced legislation declaring Rwanda a safe country in an attempt to revive the plan, after deportation flights were stalled by legal challenges.

Asked if he would accept a bet of £1,000 that flights would take off before the next election, which is expected in the the autumn, Mr Sunak shook hands with Morgan, adding: "I want to get people on the planes."

Labour said the bet showed the prime minister was "totally out of touch with working people".

Shadow minister Jonathan Ashworth said: "Not a lot of people facing rising mortgages, bills and food prices are casually dropping £1,000 bets."

• Is Rishi Sunak keeping his five key promises?

Cutting NHS waiting lists is one of five priorities Mr Sunak set out in January 2023, along with measures on the economy and illegal immigration.

At the time he said "NHS waiting lists will fall and people will get the care they need more quickly" but did not set a timeframe for achieving that.

Asked by Morgan if his government has failed to achieve that pledge, Mr Sunak said: "Yes, we have."

The prime minister continued: "What I would say to people is that we've invested record amounts in the NHS - more doctors, more nurses, more scanners.

"All these things mean the NHS is doing more than it ever has but industrial action has had an impact."

Strikes by nurses and some other health workers ended last summer, following a pay deal with the government.

However, a dispute with junior doctors and consultants is ongoing, with walkouts continuing.

The comments come a month after Mr Sunak told the BBC's Sunday with Laura Kuenssberg he expected to see measures designed to reduce waiting times to start taking effect in spring 2024.

As of November 2023, the overall number of waits for non-emergency care in England stood at around 7.6 million.

While there was a slight decrease on the number of waits compared with the previous month, that figure is roughly 400,000 higher than at the start of 2023.

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