In spite the praise heaped by Ministers on nurses  and other heroic NHS staff, many of whom sacrificed their lives, Boris Johnson has refused to give them any pay rise as a reward for their long, dangerous hours. This disgrace must be remembered as long as he holds office.

A week or so ago, Johnson was asked whether clapping was really all they merited. He replied  “Yes, of course we clap for our NHS – but under this government we also applaud those who make our NHS possible – our innovators, our wealth creators, our capitalists, our financiers.”  The last two certainly qualify to be Johnson’s particular heroes. On March 8/9 last year, the Times gave the names of 28 British billionaires who live abroad, mainly in tax havens. These people pay almost nothing towards the NHS. That comes  from our taxes. But these overseas plutocrats do prop up the Tory party, eg to the tune of over £1m before the 2017 election, despite a 2009 law designed to clamp down on such contributions. They may indeed be heroes to Mr Johnson and his cronies but no one else has any reason to clap for them.

A Government that knows the cost of everything but the value of nothing

Sadly Sir Captain Tom Moore’s heroic efforts to raise money for the NHS are also not going the help. The NHS is unable to receive charitable gifts. Tom’s marvellous effort of £32 million actually pales into insignificance when compared with Johnson’s promise of £350 million EVERY week. The NHS does not run on charity, nor does it run on applause. Let’s run it properly.

Write to your MP, making these points