Political Turmoil

With Sir Keir Starmer resigning as Prime Minister, a new cabinet will soon be in office, with Andy Burnham as the frontrunner to succeed him.

What does this mean for the Nuclear Community?

Will it be positive, or will Andy join the long list of Prime Ministers who did not tackle the longest-running scandal in British history?

We have been waiting and negotiating with Number 10, The Office for Veterans' Affairs (OVA), The Defence Secretary and The Minister for Veterans' and People for 19 months, since John Healey instigated the review. We have been extremely patient.

Since that time, we have had:

• 3 Ministers for Veterans' and People

• 2 Defence Secretaries

• 3 Armed Forces Ministers

and now 2 Prime Ministers. It can be extremely frustrating. But the Civil Servants at the Office for Veterans' Affairs haven't changed; they have continued to work hard on the report and, despite the turmoil, have continued to support and work closely with us.

Obviously, some Ministers are more supportive of our cause than others, including (believe it or not) Sir Keir Starmer.

Representatives met with Calvin Bailey MP (the new Minister for Veterans and People) last week, and he reiterated his support for the missing medical records review report and to get it published before the summer recess. A representative from Number 10 was also on the call to coordinate the release and announcement in Parliament.

Following that meeting, he responded to us with the following statement:

I am committed to the goal set by the previous MinVP and

Defence Secretary, to publish the records exercise ahead of recess.

That meeting was a week ago today, and a lot has happened since then.

With Andy Burnham winning the Makerfield by-election, he has now returned to Westminster, and it looks certain that he will become the next Prime Minister following Keir's resignation. This leaves us with a dilemma.

The records report is already 6 months late; we know that it is finished and is undergoing Ministerial approval. The Minister has committed to publishing it before recess, and we have a promise from the current Prime Minister to meet with him.

We are losing nuclear veterans every week, 2 more died last week, and we do not have time on our side as a community. Every second counts.

The records review is an important milestone for the community; it comes with recommendations and is a thorough review which has had thousands of hours spent on it. But we still haven't seen it in full. It leaves us with two options:

1. Continue to ask for the review to be published before summer recess, with its recommendations and meet with Keir to discuss the announcement in Parliament before summer recess.

2. Wait until a new Prime Minister is announced, and wait until September for the report to be published and the recommendations agreed.

Option 1 does not have any drawbacks; if the report is published and the recommendations are as we expect, then the new Prime Minister will have to make good those recommendations. Keir Starmer could make this his legacy, apologise to the veterans and fulfil his promise. If it is not published and the deadline is missed, the new Prime Minister can publish it as a priority and make a political statement.

Option 2 means waiting again, with no guarantees, a different cabinet, different Ministers and a new Prime Minister and the potential for the report to be buried and never published. Who knows if the new Ministers will be supportive or not, and if they even know about the Nuclear Test Veterans?

Andy Burnham has been very supportive of our cause, he has attended many events, including a fringe event at the Labour Party conference, he has championed Hillsborough Law and he has spoken up for the Nuclear Test Veterans, but will he do it as Prime Minister?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I-u_5H-BezU

Dealing with the UK Government can be extremely frustrating. We have had numerous meetings this year, written hundreds of emails and letters, and spoken to many officials. But we continue to work with whoever is in power; we work with the officials at the OVA.

Every day, we attend meetings, we send emails, we share social media posts and have conversations. This will never stop. We build relationships and work professionally with the people who are helping us.

When Andy Burnham was sworn in as an MP, he was heckled with 'He is not the Messiah', but will he be the one who ends the 74-year scandal?

We still have the EIR / Whistleblowing response to be published, and a Thames Valley Police investigation into misconduct in Public Office is ongoing.

We would like your feedback, we want your opinions so that we can give them to the Ministers, show how much this community is hurting and that we cannot wait any longer.

Please email info@labrats.international so that we can pass them on.