A Tory minister clashed with Laura Kuenssberg this morning within the wake of probably the most celebration’s MPs defecting to Labour.
Chris Philp used to be informed that Dan Poulter’s choice to modify aspects simply days ahead of Thursday’s native elections used to be “a sign of real rot” within the Conservatives.
Poulter, a health care provider and previous fitness minister, mentioned the Tories not noticed the NHS as a concern.
The Central Suffolk and North Ipswich MP additionally mentioned the Conservatives had transform a “nationalist party” in recent times.
On BBC One this morning, Kuenssberg informed Philp: “Dan Poulter’s assessment of the Conservative Party is a damning one.
“He says you’ve become a nationalist party, you’ve lost your compassion.
“It’s a sign of real rot, isn’t it, that he’s done this?”
Philp spoke back: “Well I don’t accept what Dan is saying at all.
“He talked about the NHS as a priority, well the NHS is one of only two departments that was protected during those years of necessary spending restraint after the last Labour government bankrupt the country.”
The minister mentioned the federal government used to be spending “record amounts” at the NHS, and that the numbers of medical doctors and nurses had long gone up within the occasion pace.
“That isn’t the sign of a party de-prioritising the NHS, that is the sign of a political party, the Conservatives, investing heavily in our NHS because it is a priority,” he mentioned.
However Kuenssberg mentioned: “With a defection, it’s not just about the statistics and who’s right and who’s wrong on the particular case.
“Doesn’t it betray a wider situation here, that you have a Conservative MP who says ‘enough, I fancy the other party, I have no faith in the other party any more’.
“You have about 70 Conservative MPs who have already said they’re standing down, and isn’t it mirrored by the fact that polls have consistently shown for months voters are walking away from you too?”
She added: “Rishi Sunak has done numerous refreshes, resets, relaunches – nothing seems to be working for you.”
However Philp insisted the polls will slender as the overall election attracts closer.
He mentioned: “Clearly at the moment people do feel grumpy with the government, but as wel get closer to an election it’s not so much a referendum on grumpiness, it becomes a choice [on] who do you want to run the country.
“Confronted with that choice, we will see our poll ratings significantly improve.”
