Rishi Sunak disclosed he’s utilised private healthcare in the past as he fought with Sir Keir Starmer at PMQs.
The premier, known as one of the richest MPs, moved to quell conjecture over his use of the NHS.
Kicking off the first Commons questions session of the New Year, Rishi Sunak said he was registered with an NHS doctor and stressed he came from an NHS household.
The comments came after Rishi Sunak continually declined to explain his perspective on private treatment.
Health Secretary Steve Barclay said he didn’t use private, but stressed he wouldn’t criticise anyone that did.
Questioned on the matter in the house, Rishi Sunak said that he was registered with an NHS GP, and he said that he’s used independent healthcare in the past and that he was also extremely grateful to the Friarage Hospital for the excellent care they’d given his family over the years.
Rishi Sunak’s father was a GP while his mother ran a pharmacy.
The Prime Minister said that he was proud to come from an NHS household and that’s why he was passionately set to protecting it with more funding, more doctors and nurses and a clear plan to shorten the waiting lists.
Aides confirmed that Rishi Sunak doesn’t presently have private cover, but dodged saying when he last used the private sector.
During a round of interviews, Mr Barclay said he didn’t subscribe to a sort of GP private thing.
Pressed on whether he has NHS care, the Cabinet minister told LBC that he didn’t subscribe to a private provider, but that he didn’t have a problem with people, with their own money, who wished to spend that money on private healthcare, and who he believed it was a totally reasonable thing for people to want to do.
Rishi Sunak was squaring up to the Labour leader after a poll discovered that the Tories were 22 points behind in crucial ‘Red Wall’ seats.
Rishi Sunak’s personal ratings are also far behind Sir Keir Starmer’s in the areas that delivered Boris Johnson’s historic majority in 2019, with voters evidently angry about the handling of the cost of living crisis.
Downing Street has been attempting to stabilise the government in the wake of Liz Truss’s catastrophic time as leader. Rishi Sunak will use a televised party political broadcast to deliver a prime ministerial address after he laid out five priorities on which the public can judge him.
This unelected billionaire Prime Minister couldn’t be more out of touch.
And why would it shock people that the leader of the country uses private healthcare? If I was the leader of the country, I would. There are tons of people that aren’t from rich families that have used private healthcare at one time or another.
I have no issue with the Prime Minister going private as long as he’s not claiming for it at the taxpayer’s expense.
The problem is that if the Prime Minister is treating himself to private healthcare, he’s treating himself to it with one hand whilst pulling the spending plug out for the NHS with the other.
So, do Prime Ministers and MPs get preferential treatment, or do they have to wait in A&E for 12 hours or more to be seen? Of course, they get special treatment, they can’t be seen sitting in A&E with all the peasants, plus they’re seen straightaway.
To be honest, I’m sick of all this twaddle and the miserable party that have destroyed our country and have only demonstrated that they only care about themselves, and a general election should be called now.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 