Labour’s candidate for East Midlands Mayor appears to have abused her position on a local NHS Trust board of Directors in her bid to win over voters. Claire Ward, former “Blair Babe” turned Chair of the Board of Directors for the Sherwood Forest Hospitals Trust shamelessly boasted from her campaign account about “welcoming” Keir Starmer and Wes Streeting to King’s Mill Hospital – a team she “helps to lead”. One way to make up for the lack of campaign posters around her area…
Ward appears to have broken the guidance which clearly states: “NHS employees are free to undertake political activism in a personal capacity but should not involve their organisation or create the impression of their organisation’s involvement or endorsement.” Meanwhile, the Tory candidate Ben Bradley was not invited to the hospital, despite it being clear that “if you agree to a visit from a candidate, all other candidates should be invited to visit.” The former MP would have been involved in the decision of who to invite to the hospital…
Ward’s been in hot water before – her career as an MP ended in ignominy after it was revealed she spent thousands on personal expenses in the 2009 expense scandal. Can MPs ever be truly reformed?
Speaking to Sky News off the back of Rachel Reeves’ Air Passenger Duty hike, Ryanair chief executive Michael O’Leary said:
“Labour is dependent on those Red Wall seats, and yet every move she makes poisons economic growth and damages the UK’s recovery… it’s the Chancellor who stumbles from policy misstep to policy misstep… I think her policy decisions are incredibly stupid.”
