Letter to Julie Marson MP: Stand Up for a Real NHS Pay Rise

Dear Ms Marson,

I hope you are well.

I’m writing to you in regards to the 1% “pay rise” announced for NHS workers in England for 2021-22 in the Budget presented by the Chancellor last week.

The Chancellor’s suggestion of a 1% pay increase is frankly dishonest. As you know, the Office for Budget Responsibility has forecast that inflation will rise to 1.5% this year, making the proposed “pay rise” a real terms pay cut for NHS staff.

Like me, I’m sure you stood on your doorstep throughout the pandemic to clap for the heroic NHS workers that have got us through this pandemic. However, this pay cut represents the Government’s failure to recognise that applause doesn’t pay the bills or put food on the table for NHS staff, an increasing number of whom are relying on the Universal Credit you supported cutting.

The Government’s decision to exclude NHS staff from a real terms pay rise is an insult to so many hard working healthcare workers in Hertford & Stortford, and across the country. In a joint letter, the British Medical Association, the Royal College of Midwives, the Royal College of Nursing and Unision have said that the proposed pay deal “fails the test of honesty and fails to provide staff who have been on the very frontline of the pandemic the fair pay deal they need.”

As you have so far remained silent on this issue, I would appreciate it if you took the time to answer the below questions, so that hard working NHS staff in Hertford & Stortford know your position:

• Do you agree with leading medical bodies and trade unions that a real terms pay cut is an

unacceptable way to repay the NHS staff that have supported us throughout the pandemic?

• Will you stand up for NHS workers in Hertford & Stortford and demand that the Government

urgently reconsiders the pay deal it has proposed for them?

Additionally, another 1.3 million public sector staff - including teachers, the armed forces, firefighters and police officers - are due to have their pay frozen for a year. Each of these key workers have done so much for our community throughout the pandemic. Will you stand up for those key workers in Hertford and Stortford and demand that the Government reverses the pay freeze?

Thank you for taking the time to read my letter and I look forward to your response.

Kind regards,

Josh Dean

Chair, Hertford & Stortford Labour Part