Deputy leadership hopeful Rosena Allin-Khan says she would offer NHS workers discount Labour membership

Rosena Allin-Khan says she would offer NHS workers a subsidised subscription to the Labour party if she was to win the deputy leadership race.



The shadow sports minister, who still works as a doctor at St George's Hospital in her Tooting constituency, said it was part of her plan to grow the membership.

Speaking after a deputy leader hustings event for MPs in Parliament, she said her colleagues “want someone who is honest about how we need to rebuild the party”.

She said: “I have a plan to grow our membership, as the NHS is going to be up for grabs under the Tories, it’s important that the people who work in the frontline of our NHS are front and centre of the conversation about how we stand up for them.

“So I think it would be really good to offer a subsidised subscription to the Labour Party for NHS staff, so that the healthcare assistants, the receptionists, people at the coalface, all have say in how we fight for our party.

“And if that works that's something we could roll out across the board.”

Ms Allin-Khan is one of six candidates to replace Tom Watson - who stood down at the election - as deputy leader.

Figures released by Labour on Wednesday revealed that Shadow Education Secretary Angela Rayner already has 16 nominations, just six short of the total needed to get through to the next round of the contest.

That is 10 more than her nearest rival, Ian Murray, Labour’s sole surviving MP in Scotland.

Mr Murray said the SNP “refer to him as the cockroach after a nuclear blast”, and outlined five pledges if he was to be elected deputy leader, including touring the country to listen to the public and driving the “disgusting cancer” of anti-semitism from the party.

He said: "I’m standing for deputy leader because of my track record in beating the odds.

“I decided to put my name forward because I have what it takes to help Labour win again across the UK. Yes, Scotland’s voice needs to be heard at the top of the party, but we must also send a message to every nation and region of the UK, where too many voters don’t think they are being heard. Every part of our UK matters.

"Our party is at a dangerous crossroads – I’ve been warning this for years. The choice is whether we become a credible alternative government or a party of perpetual opposition. I choose the former."

He and the other candidates, Shadow Justice Secretary Richard Burgon, Shadow Equalities Secretary Dawn Butler, and Shadow Europe Minister Khalid Mahmood, have until Monday to get the required nominations from MPs and MEPs.