Sir Keir Starmer calls for NHS pay to be "rapidly reviewed" on visit to South Yorkshire

During the visit to Fosters Bakery in Mapplewell, Sir Starmer was given a tour of the facility, with Barnsley Central MP and South Yorkshire Mayor Dan Jarvis, where they heard about the challenges the company and its workforce have faced during the covid pandemic.

On the subject on increasing pay for NHS staff, Sir Starmer said: "NHS staff pay needs to be rapidly reviewed and there's a very powerful case for it to be increased.

"I think the government has to make good on this promise. We can't clap our NHS staff and our carers as we used to on Thursday night and then return to business as usual. They've taken us through a huge part of this crisis and they deserve better than that."

When asked what issues Labour will prioritise to make them the party of former mining towns such as Barnsley, Sir Starmer said that infrastructure and investment in "decent" jobs would be a priority, as well as listening to what residents want.

He added: "Wherever I go, in areas like Barnsley, and we've had it this afternoon, people are saying to me we want power, resources and decisions made closer to us."

When asked about the widening gap between Barnsey Council's funding from central government and the cost to maintain services, Sir Sarmer cited a "lack of resiliance", as local authorities face tough financial decisions in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

In Barnsley, the number of council jobs were reduced by nearly 40 per cent, with 36 potential job losses during the 2019-20 financial year.

Sir Starmer said: "One of the reasons the United Kingdom has done so badly in response to the pandemic is because the lack of resilience. If you take take your money out of local councils for ten years, they're not going to be in the best position to deal with a pandemic.

"Now, local councils have actually done a huge amount of work to support their communities.

"They're now doing a lot of work on track and trace. They are all saying to me, if you want us to do this we will readily do it, we know our communities best, but you can't leave a massive financial gap here otherwise, in the end, services will have to be cut, and that's not in anybody's interest in Barnsley or anywhere else. "