British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak has said Britain cannot raise taxes to pay more National Health Service (NHS) workers. Bloomberg writes.

“We cannot raise taxes at this time,” Sunak told an audience of health workers at an event in the northeast of England, adding that health care costs are at an all-time high. “The package has never been bigger,” Sunak said. ‘It’s up to us to find the balance possible within that package.’

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It is yet another attempt by the British government to do something about months of highly damaging strikes by NHS care workers. In addition, Britons are facing their worst financial crisis in decades and the cost of living has exploded.’

strikes

Health workers will go on strike again on February 6 due to inadequate compensation for inflation. However, the UK Treasury is unwilling to budge, still holding its own against a possible review of the offer.

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Sunak has been trying to get his government back on track since his appointment. That was all the more necessary after he sacked his Conservative Party leader Nadim Zahavi yesterday over tax fraud. Sunak did so after weeks of damaging headlines.

Rotten apples

Today he sought to distance himself from decisions made by his predecessors Liz Truss and Boris Johnson over dealing with ‘bad apples’ in the Conservative Party. “I cannot change the things I did before I became prime minister,” Sunak said. “In the Zahavi case, I asked for independent counsel. It should inspire confidence that I take these situations seriously and will do everything in my power to restore integrity to our polity.