Prime Minister Rishi Sunak says Grimsby and Cleethorpes people can see locally the benefits of government investment in the NHS.
He made the remarks to Grimsby Live on a visit to John Whitgift Academy, Great Coates, ahead of a Sky News TV debate with Sir Keir Starmer in Grimsby on Wednesday evening. A recent survey of Grimsby Live readers’ top issues for the general election saw the NHS / health rank top.
He was asked with that in mind, how Grimsby voters could keep their faith back in the Conservative Party. Great Grimsby was a Conservative gain in 2019, and their candidate Lia Nici hopes to retain the redrawn seat of Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes at the election.
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“Firstly, because I come from an NHS family,” said Sunak of why Grimsby voters could have faith in a Conservative government led by him on the NHS. “My dad was a GP, my mum was a pharmacist, so I was brought up surrounded by people who dedicated their lives to the NHS, and spent most of their time at home talking about how they could do even more to help people.
“That’s what I believe, that’s why we’ve invested record sums in the NHS, we’re training more doctors and nurses and also making it easier for you, for example, to see your pharmacist when your kid has a sore throat or an ear infection, which will make a difference to people.
“Locally, you can see the benefits of that investment,” he argued, citing firstly the community diagnostics centre, yet to open in Freshney Place. “That means you can get your checks, tests and scans done much faster than you could previously, it helps us get through the waiting lists. Also, the upgrade in the A&E at the hospital here in town, so that’s examples of us investing in local healthcare.”
(Image: Getty Images)
An £18m larger, new A&E emergency department at Diana, Princess of Wales Hospital, Grimsby, opened in 2022. “But fundamentally, I come from an NHS family,” continued Sunak. “The NHS will always be safe in my hands and I want people to have peace of mind that it’ll be there for them when they and their families need.”
Grimsby Live also asked whether a re-elected Conservative government could guarantee the return of the long awaited direct train services from London to Cleethorpes, either this year, or within a year’s time. The prime minister demurred from doing so, but did state the Conservatives are committed to delivering it.
“That is very much our plan to deliver that, and Martin [Vickers] and Lia [Nici] ask me about this a lot in Prime Minister’s Question time. These rail projects do take some time so putting a precise date or month on it is tricky. But what I can tell you is we are absolutely committed to the project, as we have been for a while and as the plans are in place.
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“Our reallocation of HS2 money means that these are exactly the type of projects and communities that we can invest in. We couldn’t before because all the money was being tied up with this one project, which was overbudget, delayed and focused on one thing.
“Whereas now, we’ve freed up all that money, reinvesting every penny of it so we can do more projects exactly like that that will bring more benefits to more people in more parts of the country, much quicker.” The return of the London to Cleethorpes route has been talked about for a number of years, and gauge testing took place last summer.
North East Lincolnshire and North Lincolnshire are each set to receive next spring almost £120m in cash for other transport projects, thanks to scrapped HS2 phase two cash.
(Image: Getty Images)
Ms Nici added on the return of direct trains to London from Cleethorpes: “I spoke to Huw Merriman, the trains minister, about three weeks ago. He said it’s been signed off by Dft [Department for Transport], signed off by Treasury. Now, LNER and the unions are in negotiations for training for the route, because obviously drivers need training for the routes.
“We’re hoping to see it in the December timetable, it’s still very much at the forefront of what we are doing.” National Rail timetables are set twice a year, with the next timetables starting from mid-December. Labour’s Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes candidate, Melanie Onn, has previously stated: “This has been a 40 year campaign and the reality is that there is still no direct line between Cleethorpes and London.”
The prime minister was also asked by Hits and Greatest Hits Radio’s Charlotte Linnaker if he will invest in the steelworks sector, the “beating heart” of North Lincolnshire.
“Yes, absolutely. People can judge me by my actions on this, I think steelmaking is a really important part of the country, something that Holly [Mumby-Croft] and others have spoken to me about a lot.
He cited financial support when he was Chancellor for Celsa during the pandemic, and more recently with Tata Steel at Port Talbot .
“We have made a substantial offer to Jingye to secure the future of the plant in Scunthorpe. I can’t get into the detail of those negotiations, but what you can see from my track record is that we are prepared to partner with private companies to ensure a sustainable future for steelmaking in the UK.”
Mr Sunak arrived to John Whitgift Academy on the Conservatives’ campaign bus and hugged Ms Nici, before meeting other local Conservative representatives. He spoke to the school’s headteacher and other staff, as well as Year 7 pupils in science and maths lessons.
For a full list of candidates standing in Great Grimsby and Cleethorpes, click here.
Original artice: https://www.grimsbytelegraph.co.uk/all-about/scunthorpe
