‘He doesn’t care’: Rishi Sunak is failing nurses and NHS, say voters in Stoke

In a focus group, residents of Stoke-on-Trent describe the health service as an ‘absolute mess’ and say the PM has just disappeared

Rishi Sunak should pour money and staff into the “crippled” NHS, and reward striking nurses with better pay, Conservative 2019 voters from a “red wall” constituency have said.

Stoke-on-Trent residents in a focus group organised by More in Common for the Guardian described the health service as “struggling”, being in an “absolute mess” and “on its backside”, with all members able to describe just how difficult it is to get an appointment. On top of this, the locals expressed a huge amount of sympathy for striking health workers, who are “worked to the bone”.

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Police warn against vigilante action against duckling hit-and-run driver

Driver’s details shared on social media after allegedly running over ducklings near Stoke-on-Trent as other drivers waited for them to cross

Police have urged the public against any vigilante actions after the registration of a driver who allegedly ran over a brood of ducklings was published online.

Staffordshire police confirmed it is investigating a Facebook post which claimed that at least three ducklings were killed on Friday at a roundabout in Trentham near Stoke-on-Trent. The post claimed they were killed by the driver of a white transit van who allegedly ignored other drivers who were waiting for the ducks to cross the road.

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May makes last-ditch bid to win over Commons to Brexit deal

Voting down plan would destroy faith in politics, PM to say at start of crucial week for leadership

Theresa May will make one final appeal to the Commons to pass her Brexit deal, amid speculation among many Conservative MPs that the expected defeat could spark a cross-party plan or moves to oust the prime minister.

May is to start her most crucial week as prime minister with a speech at a factory in Stoke-on-Trent, where more than two-thirds of people voted to leave the EU. Reiterating her recent pleas, May will tell MPs that voting down her proposals on Tuesday would destroy faith in politics, and could mean that Brexit does not happen.

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