Jeremy Hunt has said he has a “great deal of sympathy” for nurses struggling with the cost of living – but the best way to help them is to bring inflation down.
The chancellor was asked whether he was concerned it will be a “winter of discontent” as nurses call for a 17% wage increase and have voted to strike, likely next month, for the first time ever.
But Mr Hunt, who was the health secretary when junior doctors went on strike for the first time ever in 2015, implied the action would have no effect on nurses’ pay and everyone is dealing with the same issues.
“It’s an area that I know well, and I have a great deal of sympathy for them,” he said.
“And the reason that they are feeling so frustrated is because inflation is more than 10% and that is eating away at everyone’s earnings and making everyone worry about the cost of the weekly shop.
“The best thing that I can do as chancellor is produce a plan that brings down inflation, brings down the upward pressure on…
