Boris Johnson has dismissed suspicions that Rishi Sunak is after his job, as he sought to put his leadership back on track with new cancer waiting times.
Amid allegations that the chancellor is blocking a crucial NHS recovery plan because he believes the government is “dying”, the prime minister insisted he retained faith in him.
Asked if he had any “doubt about the chancellor’s loyalty”, Mr Johnson replied: “Absolutely not,” as the pair visited an oncology centre in Kent together.
The “elective recovery plan” – to confront the huge NHS patient backlog, even before Covid struck – was due to be unveiled on Monday, but was shelved suddenly.
Matthew Taylor, the head of the NHS Confederation and a former No 10 policy chief said the episode was reminiscent of Gordon Brown throwing his weight around as Tony Blair’s power waned.
But Mr Johnson told ITV News: “Everybody at No 10 and the Treasury are working together in harmony in dealing the big problems that the country faces and clearing the Covid backlog.”
He announced new cancer treatment targets intended to ensure that, from March 2023, nobody waits more than two months for their diagnosis.
Jeremy Hunt, the Tory chair of the Commons health committee, has raised the alarm over the last-minute delay to the rescue plan – as more than 300,000 patients wait over a year for treatment.
“There appears to be an argument about targets which is the last thing the NHS needs: instead they should be discussing where we are going to find the 4,000 additional doctors needed to address the backlog,” he said.
Treasury sources have briefed that Mr Sunak was unwilling to sign off on the multi-billion pound NHS recovery plan because its targets are ill-conceived.
He appears to fear that the plan will target very long waits – which attract the worst headlines – over patients who have waited less time, but need treatment more urgently.
On his hospital visit, Mr Johnson said he wanted the “vast majority” of people who think they may have cancer to get a diagnosis within 28 days.
A second target would mean that, by 2028, three-quarters of people with cancer would be diagnosed when that cancer is at an early stage.
“We are now working with the NHS to set some tough targets so that we are able to deliver for the patient and also for the taxpayers. We are putting huge sums in,” he said. “Those are very tough targets.”
And he added: “It’s thanks to the investment that we’re able to put in, thanks to the sound management of the economy – everything that we did, all the looking after business throughout the pandemic, that’s enabled our economy to bounce back so well – that in turn enables us to put the investment that we need now in the NHS.”
