A nurse has sparked fury by saying live on national television: ‘If you voted Tory you don’t deserve to be resuscitated by the NHS’.
Former NHS nurse Miranda Hughes made the incendiary comments during a live TV debate on Channel 5 last night.
The outburst comes after self-proclaimed ‘Anti-Tory’ Ms Hughes also slammed Brexit as ‘absurd’ and ’embarrassing’ during a previous rant on BBC Question Time.
Her inflammatory remarks about the NHS were made last night on a live debate named ‘Britain on the Brink’, hosted by Jeremy Vine.
After being challenged on the claims, Ms Hughes who now works in the private sector, backtracked on her incendiary remarks, insisting: ‘No, of course I would, of course I would.’
But her original comments have sparked fury online, with some describing them as ‘disgusting’ and ‘bigotry’.
Others pointed out that more than 14million people voted Conservative in the 2019 election.
Former NHS nurse Miranda Hughes made the incendiary comments during a live TV debate on Channel 5 last night
Ms Hughes made the comments as she explained to host, Vine, about her decision to quit the NHS for the private sector.
She said: ‘I could not handle the emotional stress of not being able to deliver for my patients.
‘When you sign up to be a nurse, you sign up to put the patient at the forefront of everything you do.
‘You are squeezed to the point where you cannot treat people, the way you need to treat them.
‘And it eats you up, because you are there to do a job as a compassionate person, but there are no resources.
Growing in anger as she spoke, she then said: ‘And you are told consistently on the news that care homes are being ring fenced, but it’s a lie.’
‘And I am sorry but if you have voted Tory you do not deserve to be resuscitated by the NHS.
‘I know that is hard, I know that is hard, but I’m looking at these gentlemen and it has made me so angry.
Asked if she meant what she said by host Jeremy Vine, she replied: ‘No, of course I would, of course I would.
‘But it is appalling the way we have been treated. All nurses have been slapped in the face.’
Her comments have today sparked a backlash online, with people describing her views as ‘bigotry’.
One person to comment was former Sky and GB News presenter Colin Brazier. He said on Twitter: ‘It doesn’t do to trot out the ‘…all it takes for evil to prevail is for good men to do nothing’ too regularly.
‘But really. Saying that Tory voters shouldn’t be resuscitated if they need to, in hospital, crosses several lines.’
David Atherton, who describes himself as a Libertarian, and a former contributor the right-wing site Breibert, tweeted: ‘Lefty nurse Miranda Hughes said on Channel 5’s ‘Britain on the Brink’ last night that Tories ‘don’t deserve to be resuscitated.’
‘I thought ‘never kissed a Tory’ was bad enough for bigotry.’
Another to respond to the video, Scottish Conservative councillor Iain Gall, tweeted: ‘13,966,454 people voted conservative in the 2019 general election including myself.
‘No doubt this cretin has #bekind in her bio.’
It comes following a spate of criticism towards Labour politicians and activists following anti-Tory remarks.
Labour frontbencher Lucy Powell was earlier this year accused of stirring up division after posing in a T-shirt that claimed she had ‘never kissed a Tory’.
The party’s culture spokesman was told to ‘grow up’ after she was pictured wearing the T-shirt at the Manchester Pride parade.
But Labour allies suggested the row over the T-shirt, which has become popular in some Left-wing circles, was an attempt to distract people from the cost of living crisis.
Ms Powell, the party’s culture spokesman, was told to ‘grow up’ after she was pictured wearing the T-shirt at the Manchester Pride parade this weekend
Chris Clarkson, the Tory MP for Heywood and Middleton, said of the shirt: ‘Puerile, divisive and completely against the spirit of inclusion that Pride is supposed to embody. Grow up.’
Sara Britcliffe, for Hyndburn and Haslingden, added: ‘This is the problem. Creating an us v them. Quite disgusting from a shadow minister.
‘A difference of political belief should not result in hate.’
Tory MP Dehenna Davison, who came out as bisexual last year, also labelled the stunt ‘juvenile’.
A source close to Mrs Powell said last night: ‘Whilst the Conservatives are fixating over a T-shirt worn to a Pride event in Manchester this weekend – a T-shirt worn by Labour at all Prides for over a decade to much cheer from the crowds – millions of families and pensioners are worried sick about how they will pay their energy bills this winter.’
Labour’s deputy leader Angela Rayner also faced criticism last year after referring to Conservatives as ‘scum’ during a fringe meeting at Labour’s party conference in Brighton.
She said:’We cannot get any worse than a bunch of scum, homophobic, racist, misogynistic, absolute vile, banana republic, vile, nasty, Etonian piece of scum.’
She later ‘unreservedly’ apologised for the remarks and said she had ‘reflected’ on the tone of political debate in the wake of the murder of Conservative MP Sir David Amess in October last year and would no longer use such language.
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