The Liberal Democrats have proposed a whopping pay rise of up to £200 a week for frontline NHS staff dealing with the coronavirus crisis.
The “frontline service reward” would mirror the deployment allowance given to armed forces personnel serving on active duty, and would be valued at £29 a day. Based on the median salary of nurses, this could represent as much as a 50% pay rise.
Acting Lib Dem leader Sir Ed Davey MP told The Torch: “In our hospitals, care homes, hospices and in the wider health and care sector, an army of workers are protecting us. Liberal Democrats believe the Government must support these coronavirus heroes properly.”
It is by far the most ambitious package of financial support for frontline NHS staff yet put forward by any major political party, and is accompanied by further suggested measures including a coronavirus service medal, and the government paying for the funerals of those on the NHS frontline who pass away from COVID-19.
Our political editor says that it represents a “major commitment by the Liberal Democrats to respecting our health workers at this time of crisis”.