It is disappointing some RCN members voted for industrial action.

We accepted the recommendations of the independent NHS Pay Review Body in full and have given over one million NHS workers a pay rise of at least £1,400 this year on top of a 3% rise last year. I’m hugely grateful for the hard work and dedication of NHS staff, including nurses.

That’s why supporting the NHS and social care workforce to care for patients is one of my priorities, and we have already recruited 30,000 of the 50,000 more nurses we promised by 2024.

THREAD: 1/ Despite months of asking for one, Labour refused a General Election saying they will only agree once 31st Oct has passed. They’ve changed their tune AGAIN. Now they say they want a 2nd referendum instead, which risks months of Parliamentary paralysis. Here’s why: 2/ A 2nd referendum requires four steps – 1. Primary legislation 2. Question testing by the Electoral Commission 3. Operational preparations 4. A regulated campaign period. For the 2016 Referendum, the entire process took 13 months.

Spoke at the MEDEF business leaders’ conference in Paris this afternoon. I urged 🇫🇷 to improve its offer to 🇬🇧 nationals to one that matches ours including no fees for residency and certainty on healthcare. /1 We need certainty for businesses too. Business visitors from EU make an invaluable contribution to our economy - nothing will change for their short trips to the UK. 🇬🇧&🇪🇺 understand & agree that our wealth creators need to be able to move freely between our territories. /2