Jon Ashworth was appearing on ITV’s Peston Tonight on Wednesday, when he was asked by show’s host whether Labour would vote for the Government’s NHS funding bill. The ITV presenter pointed out that the proposed increase was three times the rate of growth of the economy and as such was a significant amount. In a humiliating climbdown, the MP for Leicester South said his party would allow the legislation to pass, even though the money on offer was too little and the framework of the bill would actually restrict the amount of money going to the NHS.

Mr Ashworth said: “We are not going to turn down the opportunity to give the NHS more money, but it is not enough money.”

He added: “But let’s be clear, what is being put in place is a legal framework which restricts the money going into the NHS, when the NHS should be getting 4 percent a year.

“And this is even before you get on to the fact that public health services are being cut, social care has been savaged and there isn’t enough money going into the capital budgets of our hospitals.”

On Wednesday, the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, Matt Hancock, introduced the Government’s NHS Long Term Plan Funding Bill to Parliament.

The bill enshrines in law an extra £33.9 billion every year by 2024 for the NHS to transform care.

At the same time it includes a ‘double-lock’ commitment that places a legal duty on both the Secretary of State and the Treasury to uphold this minimum level of NHS revenue funding over the next 4 years.

In its election manifesto, the Labour Party pledged to inject an extra £40 billion in cash terms for day-to-day NHS spending from 2018/19 to 2023/24.

It also promised an annual average increase of 4.3 per cent in overall health spending covered by the Department of Health and Social Care’s budget.

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Labour is intending to introduce its own motion to the Prime Minister’s bill on Thursday, when MPs will vote for or against the legislation.

In a statement he posted to Twitter, Mr Ashworth called on Labour supporters to lobby their Tory MP to get them to support the party’s amendment.

He wrote: “Under the Tories the NHS is in crisis.

“Scrapping the A&E 4 hour target won’t magic away the problems of patients languishing on trolleys.

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“Tomorrow MPs can vote for Labour’s motion to give the NHS the funding needed.

“Please lobby your Tory MP to get them to support our motion.”

This comes as Jeremy Corbyn became embroiled in another controversy, this time over Labour Party staff redundancies.

After the party’s crushing election defeat, Party leaders told staff that there would be a number of redundancies due to a lack of funds.

Staff at the party’s National Communications Centre in Newcastle were told before Christmas their fixed-term contracts would not be renewed.

Yet, despite this, the Party has just advertised 50 new vacancies at its Newcastle Head Office.

Furious former staff members are now considering launching a collective grievance action against the Party, accusing it of being callous and showing a lack of concern for workers’ rights.

One former employee told BuzzFeed News: We’re all Labour Party activists, long-standing members, who’ve put our all into this party for the last however-long.

“We’ve worked there two, three, four years, and to be dismissed in such an unkind and cold way by an organisation that should be holding workers’ rights dear is really dispiriting.”

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