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Editorial Thursday 11 March 2021: Health Minister Nadine Dorries to nurses: their husbands' pay/furlough makes 1% pay offer OK | Health Policy Insight
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Editorial Thursday 11 March 2021: Health Minister Nadine Dorries to nurses: their husbands' pay/furlough makes 1% pay offer OK

Publish Date/Time: 
03/11/2021 - 11:57

There is a demarcation issue with this Government. They are trying to put satirists out of business.

Where's the Competition and Markets Authority when you need it, eh?

It is remarkable that today, in 2021 in the real world, Health Minister Nadine Dorries told BBC Radio 4 Women's Hour (23 mins 20 in) that a nurse manager of a vaccination centre told her "we have two children in our house; there are two of us: two wages coming in and one mortgage going out. If we had to choose between my husband being furloughed until the autumn or a pay rise, I would choose my husband being furloughed any day because now we have the security that our mortgage can be paid".

The Health Minister went on to say that furlough for nurses' partners was the justification for making the NHS pay offer only 1%.

So it's all about the other half's income?

Mmmmmmn.

Dorries also said "anyone who manages a budget, there's a pressure on that budget". Ahem, ahem: somehow, Test And Trace seems not to have this issue, Nadine.

Nad's a celebrity - get her out of here
Perhaps it is another bid for TV stardom in our outrage/attention economy. You may remember that Dorries was suspended by the Conservative Party in 2012 for taking time off her work as a Member of Parliament to go and appear on iTV's 'I'm A Celebrity - Get Me Out Of Here!'

Dorries has lengthy form for poor judgment. She accused London Mayor Sadiq Khan of being responsible for grooming gangs in Sheffield, and also retweeted propaganda from the far-right agitator Stephen Yaxley-Lennon, whose stage name is 'Tommy Robinson'.

The Health Minister continues to retweet obviously faked news content.

This strong Brexit supporter said of the EU Withdrawal Agreement "This is a very sad place to be, but unfortunately, the future of the country and of our relationship with Europe is at stake. This deal gives us no voice, no votes, no MEPs, no commissioner". In other words, she had not realised that leaving the EU means leaving the EU.

Fun times.