welcome to the programme. plenty of elections around the world this year. now know a bit more about what could be happening here in the uk. rishi sunak says the general election is likely to happen in the second half of this year . he didn t rule out it happening earlier but says his working assumption is later this year. take a listen. so, look, my working assumption is we ll have a general election in the second half of this year, and in the meantime, i ve got lots that i want to get on with. that means cutting people s taxes this saturday. that s a tax cut worth £450 for the average person in work. we can do that because we d halved inflation. i want to keep going, managing the economy well and cutting people s taxes, but i also want to keep attacking illegal migration. last year, we got the numbers down by a third, and now we need to get our rwanda schema through parliament, up and running, so we have a full deterrent. and that s how we are really going to solve this
and fay weldon, the writer best known for her 1983 novel, the life and loves of a she devil has died at the age of 91. the prime minister, rishi sunak, has set out his programme for the year ahead, outlining five promises he says he wants the public tojudge his premiership on. they are halving inflation to ease the cost of living whilst also growing the economy, creating better paid jobs and opportunities across the country. he wants to ensure the national debt is falling to secure the future of public services whilst also cutting nhs waiting lists so that people get the care they need more quickly and passing new laws to stop small boats crossing the channel. he asked voters to judge his premiership on whether the goals were achieved. on the current wave of strikes in britain, he said he hugely valued public service employees and wants a reasonable discussion on what is fair for the country . let s have a listen to some of the prime minister s speech. i want to make five
sunak. now, elections could have been held in the may time. we are expecting it to happen sometime in this year, there can be an election in the first month of next year, but rishi sunak their speaking earlier and was asked a question by a reporter about the timing of the election, plenty of speculation about it and he confirmed that in his mind, his working assumption would be that it would take place in the second half of the year. so, no early general election. we got a response straightaway from the labour party and opposition leaders saying that they wanted an election as soon as possible and they accused rishi sunak of effectively squatting in downing street. we will have plenty more political reaction to that and i will be back with all the headlines injust that and i will be back with all the headlines in just a that and i will be back with all the headlines injust a couple headlines in just a couple of minutes time. stay with us. and the list onjones. this is bbc news.
sue has raised the alarm. an elderly man in reception feels unwell. could be an issue with his heart. staff are quick to respond and after treatment, the patient is able to head home. we don t mess about. i don t know what s. happening with him. i m not messing about. i m not clinical and we ve got teams i on site, so it sjust panic button. i and i know i m going i to get i m going to get a response straightaway. gp surgeries, like the rest of the health service, are struggling as they see more patients with more complex health issues. problems in accident and emergency as well as social care are adding to the pressures. it all means that busy, nonstop days like this one are now the new normal. dominic hughes, bbc news, doncaster. a snapshot there of the pressures on the health service this winter.