PMQs: Sunak struggles on ambulance wait times

Today’s Prime Minister’s Questions saw Keir Starmer launch his strongest attack on Rishi Sunak so far. The topic was the same – the NHS – but the technique new. He opened by asking the Prime Minister to tell the Commons how long someone who called for an ambulance now would have to wait before it turned up. This was slightly blunted by him saying ‘it’s three minutes past 12’, and a Tory heckler shouting ‘well done!’ to chuckles around the chamber. But then the Labour leader went on: ‘If somebody phones 999 now because they have chest pains and fear it might be a heart attack, when would the Prime Minister expect an ambulance to arrive?’

Sunak did not engage with the question, a tactic he stuck to throughout this uncomfortable session. He talked about the importance of people getting the care they needed, and then pivoted to an attack, asking: ‘If he cares about ensuring that patients get access to lifesaving emergency care when they need it, why won’t he support our minimum safety legislation?’ The problem with ‘minimum service’ legislation for strikes in key sectors though is that it reminds everyone that the bigger problem in the NHS is how it runs on non-strike days, when the health service still isn’t able to guarantee minimum safety levels.