Amidst the current political hysteria and pandemonium, former health secretaries Sajid Javid and Jeremy Hunt have thrown their hats into the ring for Prime Minister.
Javid resigned from his position early last week, with Steve Barclay announced as his replacement within a matter of hours, and now he is officially launching his leadership bid.
Announcing his intention to relace Boris Johnson as leader of the Conservative Party and the Prime Minister, Javid said: “The next Conservative leader needs to be able to unite the party and win an election. The next Prime Minister needs integrity, experience, and a tax-cutting plan for economic growth.
“That's why I'm standing.”
Javid ended his tenure as the health secretary on the same day as the NHS’s birthday, ending his resignation letter to the Prime Minister saying: “I would like to put on record my thanks to ministerial and departmental colleagues, my admiration for NHS and social care staff, and my love for my family who have been immensely patient in these challenging times.”
Javid was appointed as the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care in 2021, in the middle of the pandemic, navigating a time of unprecedented challenges and unforeseen dangers within the health sector.
Javid presided over the UK’s world-leading vaccine roll out, which allowed the British public “months more freedom than comparable countries” as he noted in his letter to Boris Johnson.
The MP for Bromsgrove joins Kemi Badenoch, Suella Braverman, Penny Mordaunt, Grant Shapps, Rishi Sunak, Liz Truss, Tom Tugendhat, Nadhim Zahawi, Rehman Chishti, and none other than former health secretary Jeremy Hunt in the race for the Premiership.
Hunt served as health secretary between 2012 and 2018 and announced his intention to stand declaring that he can “restore voters”, during this time of political uncertainty for the Conservative Party.
Hunt’s healthcare pitch was summarised as:
- Bring back family doctors – a policy ditched in 2004 but Hunt believes it reduces chances of hospitalisation.
- Make recommendation on how many doctors and nurses to train independently (outside of politician’s hands).
- A new social care savings plan.
Stay tuned to National Health Executive for all the latest coverage on how the current political climate could affect the NHS and the wider health industry.
