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The Guardian Politics14 Apr 2026

Infected blood scandal compensation to rise

Additional £1bn allocated to payments for victims and their relatives, including extra £35,000 for former Treloar pupils Compensation payments will rise for people affected by the infected blood scandal, including an extra £35,000 each for pupils who were experimented on at school without their knowledge, the paymaster general has announced. The government has allocated £1bn for the payments. The final report of the inquiry into what has been described as the biggest treatment disaster in NHS hi

Healthcare
The Guardian Politics14 Apr 2026

Scottish Greens pledge free bus travel and basic income in election manifesto

Party says plan for ‘radical change’ will be funded in part through higher taxes on aviation, gambling and landlords UK politics live – latest updates The Scottish Greens have called for free bus travel, thousands of extra teachers and doctors and a universal basic income among hundreds of uncosted manifesto pledges. The party is enjoying a bounce in Scottish opinion polls, with some putting it ahead of Labour, driven partly by the surging support for the Green party of England and Wales under

PoliticsEconomyEducationEnvironmentHousingHealthcare
The Guardian Politics13 Apr 2026

Private firms providing services to NHS made £1.6bn profit in two years, research finds

Exclusive: MPs say profit-making levels in England are ‘scandalous’ and call for cap on amount private companies can make from NHS Private firms providing services to the NHS including healthcare and consultancy have made £1.6bn in profits over the last two years, research reveals. The findings – on the basis of contracts worth £12bn – have prompted claims of “scandalous” profiteering, concern that the health service is being “taken for a ride” and calls for ministers to impose a cap on maximum

PoliticsHealthcare
The Guardian Politics12 Apr 2026

Fried nuggets and steamed sponges off menu in school food overhaul in England

Campaigners welcome first update of school food standards in 13 years, which aims to help lower obesity rates The government is to announce an overhaul to school food standards in England that will lead to calorific classics such as fish and chips and steamed sponges being banned. The new rules of the first major update to school food standards in 13 years will apply from September. They are part of efforts to lower the rates of childhood obesity, with data for 2024 released by the NHS in Januar

Healthcare
The Guardian Politics12 Apr 2026

Voting for populist parties in local polls will put NHS at risk, says Streeting

Exclusive: Health secretary warns of dangers of protest vote as he pitches NHS as key battleground in May elections Voters in May’s local and devolved elections risk putting the NHS in jeopardy if they vote for populist parties, Wes Streeting has said, as he sought to make the health service a key battleground. “The founding principles of the NHS are at greater threat than at any time since the NHS was founded in 1948,” the health secretary said. Continue reading...

PoliticsDefenceReformHealthcare
The Guardian Politics10 Apr 2026

Doctors’ leader claims new reduced pay offer killed chances of ending strikes in England

Exclusive: Deal for resident doctors was in sight when sudden change by ministers forced latest action, says Jack Fletcher Ministers killed the chance to end strikes by resident doctors when they suddenly reduced the amount of money they were offering to secure the peace deal, the doctors’ leader claims. Dr Jack Fletcher accused the government of “playing games” and forcing resident doctors to embark on their 15th strike over pay and jobs, which is disrupting the NHS this week. Continue reading

Healthcare
The Guardian Politics10 Apr 2026

Both doctors and the government are handling this strike badly – that’s why there is no end in sight | Polly Toynbee

With the BMA making ‘impossible’ demands and Labour responding with Trumpian threats, negotiations are stuck – and it’s the NHS that will suffer What’s the off-ramp? When I ask one of the negotiating team close to the health secretary, the bleak answer is, “I don’t know.” Resident doctors in England are on another strike, for six days this time. Labour arrived in office bearing a 22.3% pay rise to end the strike it inherited – and it thought it was all over. But within a year, doctors were out a

Healthcare
The Guardian Politics8 Apr 2026

Alarm in health service over Palantir staff being given NHS email accounts

Exclusive: Sources believe AI tech company’s engineers have been granted access to directory of up to 1.5m staff UK politics live – latest updates Health service staff have expressed alarm that engineers working for controversial tech company Palantir have been given NHS email accounts. Employees using NHS.net email accounts have access to a directory with the contact details of up 1.5 million staff. Sources believe Palantir staff were granted the same access. Continue reading...

PoliticsHealthcare
The Guardian Politics7 Apr 2026

British Medical Association accused of hypocrisy as its own staff strike over pay

Union rejected 4.9% pay rise for resident doctors, who are on six-day strike, but offered its own staff 2.75% The British Medical Association has been accused of the “height of hypocrisy” for offering its own staff below-inflation pay rises while demanding a 26% increase for resident doctors. Tens of thousands of medics walked out of the NHS in England on Tuesday, the 15th time they have staged industrial action since March 2023 in their campaign for “full pay restoration”. Continue reading...

EconomyHealthcare
The Guardian Politics7 Apr 2026

Resident doctors begin longest strike yet as Streeting accuses BMA of hypocrisy over pay – UK politics live

The health secretary and the BMA trade accusations over who bears responsibility for the collapse of talks Good morning. Resident doctors in English hospitals started a six-day strike at 7am this morning. Many of them will continue to work, but there will be enough of them joining the strike to have a significant impact on the care hospitals can deliver. It is the 15th resident doctors (who used to be known as junior doctors) have been on stage since they launched a campaign in 2023 to get their

PoliticsHealthcare
The Guardian Politics7 Apr 2026

Resident doctors’ strike has torpedoed pay rises and training posts, says Wes Streeting

Exclusive: Health secretary says industrial action in England also threatens to derail NHS progress on waiting times Wes Streeting has accused resident doctors of “torpedoing” their own pay rises and training jobs by walking out on strike again, as tens of thousands of doctors began a six-day stoppage in England. The health secretary said there was a “legitimacy” to concerns over jobs and wages but that the British Medical Association had scuppered any chance of a breakthrough when it rejected w

Healthcare
The Guardian Politics7 Apr 2026

‘It’s heartbreaking’: resident doctors in England face halt on new training posts

Withdrawal of additional speciality training roles amid strike deadlock has left some doctors with uncertain future After almost two years on the NHS frontline as a resident doctor, Heather Gunn says she is bracing herself for unemployment. Like many of her colleagues, she was desperate to secure one of the up to 4,500 additional training posts the government agreed to introduce in England over three years to help doctors progress into more specialised fields. The posts were promised in negotiat

Healthcare