Dear John,

The first two weeks of this month bring us the International Day of the Midwife (5 May) and International Nurses Day (12 May). And it's been a long four years since we stood on our streets and clapped for them during the Covid pandemic.

More than half of nurses polled by the Royal College of Nursing want to quit in the next five years. Low pay, the cost of living crisis and unsustainable levels of pressure are the top issues cited. 

During one week in March of this year, midwives and maternity support workers in England, Scotland and Wales clocked up a staggering 136,834 extra unpaid hours to keep services running safely. In some English regions, 97% worked extra unpaid hours - and three-quarters of respondents said their workplace was not safely staffed during that week.

Meanwhile real-terms pay has fallen by 8%. Nurses are on average paid more in Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US than in the UK.

The Tories' systemic neglect of the NHS over the past 14 years has pushed our nurses and midwives to the brink. Britain can't wait another five years - we need a change of government now. 

Our tactical voting tool GetVoting.org will launch very soon. We'll be sharing NHS data in each constituency, to help you make an informed choice about how to vote at the next election. Make sure you're signed up to get alerts.

If you or someone you love is a nurse, midwife, maternity support worker or NHS staff member, thank you for everything you do. We will campaign tirelessly for a change of government, to protect our NHS.

Best wishes,
Julia Meadon
Director of Digital