Streeting says ‘hell of a lot’ still to do after PM says NHS has met its two million extra appointment pledge – UK politics live

Health secretary Wes Streeting has been on the media round for the government this morning, and has been asked about Keir Starmer’s commitment to put British troops on the ground in Ukraine in a peacekeeping role if required by any peace deal.

Speaking on Times Radio he said it was “premature” to talk about how many British troops could be sent. PA Media reports he told listeners:

The prime minister will be travelling to France to meet with other European Nato leaders to discuss what is a once-in-a-generation moment for the collective security of our continent, which isn’t just about the future of Ukraine, it is an existential question for Europe as a whole.

That’s why the gathering [in Paris] today is important. Next week, he’ll be travelling to Washington to meet with President Trump, no doubt relaying the outcome of some of those discussions today.

Asked what the scale of a potential peacekeeping force could be and if the Government would be prepared to carry out a recruitment drive, he said: “I think it’s premature to be talking about numbers.”

He said the government was still “on the path” to spending 2.5% of GDP on defence, although the government does not have a date for reaching the target.

According to House of Commons library figures, in the 2023/24 financial year, the UK spent £53.9bn on defence. A report published in December 2024 stated that “Real-terms defence spending fell by 22% between 2009/10 and 2016/17 (from £57.1bn to £44.6bn in 2023/24 prices), before starting to increase again to nearer its 2010 levels.”

Keir Starmer has said he is prepared to put British troops on the ground in Ukraine in a peacekeeping role as part of any peace deal.

Taking the unusual step of announcing the potential deployment of British troops in the pages of the Telegraph rather than in parliament, the prime minister said:

Europe must step up further to meet the demands of its own security. We have got to show we are truly serious about our own defence and bearing our own burden. We have talked about it for too long – and president Trump is right to demand that we get on with it.

Russia is still waging war and Ukraine is still fighting for its freedom, which is why we must not relent in our efforts to get the kit Ukrainians need for their fighters on the front line. While the fighting continues, we must put Ukraine in the strongest possible position ahead of any talks.

The UK is ready to play a leading role in accelerating work on security guarantees for Ukraine. This includes further support for Ukraine’s military. But it also means being ready and willing to contribute to security guarantees to Ukraine by putting our own troops on the ground if necessary.

I do not say that lightly. I feel very deeply the responsibility that comes with potentially putting British servicemen and women in harm’s way. But any role in helping to guarantee Ukraine’s security is helping to guarantee the security of our continent, and the security of this country.

Starmer continued by saying “The end of this war, when it comes, cannot merely become a temporary pause before Putin attacks again.”

The prime minister is heading to Paris today for talks with European leaders. My colleague Jakub Krupa writes:

The Paris meeting will aim to outline a European action plan after days of chaotic briefing by the Trump administration. The summit will also need to decide how to respond to a request by the US to spell out whether leaders are prepared to commit troops to a stabilisation force in the event of a ceasefire.

Confirming the Paris meeting, France’s foreign minister, Jean-Noël Barrot, told France Inter radio on Sunday: “The president will bring together the main European countries tomorrow for discussions on European security.” He said there was a wind of unity blowing through.

The government has claimed that it has delivered early on an election pledge to offer an extra two million NHS appointments in England within a year.

In a statement, the government said:

The prime minister has welcomed new figures published by NHS England which reveal that between July and November last year, the NHS delivered almost 2.2 million more elective care appointments compared to the same period the previous year – delivering on the government’s mission to fix the NHS as part of the plan for change.

The new data confirms the government reached the target seven months earlier than promised – with 100,000 more treatments, tests, and scans for patients each week, and more than half a million extra diagnostic tests delivered.

Speaking to BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, health secretary Wes Streeting said: “Look at the size of the waiting lists overall. It’s come down four months in a row. That’s progress, but there’s still a lot more to do.”

NHS England provided 2.2m more appointments for planned care – including chemotherapy, radiotherapy and diagnostic tests – between July and November last year than during the same period the year before.

Despite the announcement that the government claims to have hit its target of two million extra appointments, health secretary Wes Streeting has said there is “a hell of a lot more to do” to improve NHS care in England.

Speaking on the BBC Radio 4 Today programme, the MP for Ilford North said:

What we’ve seen in the NHS over the course of winter with ambulance response times, and corridor care, [there’s] a hell of a lot more to do there. Mental health is in a dire state. There’s a huge amount more to do there.

And on each of those fronts, of course, we are going to deliver what we said in our manifesto.

But it’s important that as we do, we’re reporting back to reassure the public that politics can make a difference. That government can be a force for good.

Good morning, and welcome to our rolling coverage of UK politics for Monday. Here are the headlines.

• The government has claimed that it has already delivered on its election pledge to provide two million additional NHS elective care appointments in England

• Health secretary Wes Streeting said there is “a hell of a lot more to do” to improve care in the NHS in England, singling out ambulance response times and corridor care as issues

• Prime minister Keir Starmer has written an op-ed for the Telegraph saying that he is willing to put British troops on the ground as part of a peacekeeping force on the ground in Ukraine if required as part of any peace deal

• Chancellor Rachel Reeves has been warned public sector unions will demand higher pay increases to compensate for accelerating inflation

• UK employers are reported to be preparing for the biggest redundancy round in a decade amid collapsing business confidence as firms brace for tax increases from April

• Britain’s poorest households are paying an increasing share of their income on council tax, according to new analysis

• Conservative opposition leader Kemi Badenoch, and Nigel Farage, leader of Reform UK, are expected to attend the Alliance for Responsible Citizenship (ARC) conference in London

It is Martin Belam with you today. You can get in touch with me at martin.belam@theguardian.com.