Lewis Atkinson MP: Labour is 'fixing the foundations of our country'

Labour is resetting the relationship between government and NHS staff, ending the strikes and getting waiting lists down.

When I was out doing a street visit in Seaburn the other week the feedback from residents was telling. While there was cautious optimism about the development we’re seeing in our city, people also shared frustrations about the way too many things in the country feel broken – whether that be NHS dentistry, public transport or the economy.

Fixing problems requires honesty about the situation we’re in and then taking the decisions needed to turn things around.

The last government spent too much time deferring difficult decisions or papering over the cracks. They allowed industrial action in the NHS to go on for nearly two years – costing the taxpayer £1.7bn and resulting in 1.5 million operations being cancelled.

The result is longer waiting times – last week a resident came to see me to share her frustrations at waiting 18 months for a procedure.

The new government is taking a different approach. We are doing what is necessary to fix the foundations of the country after 14 years of failure. That includes resetting the relationship between government and NHS staff, ending the strikes and getting everyone working so we can get waiting lists down. It also requires fixing the public finances.

Discovering a £22bn black hole is not how any Government would want to start its work. But we owe working people the respect of economic stability. We all saw what happened when Liz Truss crashed the economy – Sunderland people faced higher prices, energy bills and mortgages. We must never repeat that.

This government will not risk economic stability under any circumstances. That is why we need to fix the hole in the public finances.

Those with the broadest shoulders should take most of the burden. The government is making international wealthy ‘non-doms’ pay more, ending the tax break on private schools and backing tough fines on water companies. But it has also had to make painful decisions such as limiting winter fuel payments to the poorest pensioners.

My priority is delivering better living standards, services and opportunities for everyone in Sunderland. By taking the tough decisions now to protect the public finances we begin the change that is required – and we begin fixing the foundations of our country so we can have a brighter future.