Jeremy Hunt's strange feud with Stephen Hawking over NHS comments

15 March 2023 , 12:42

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Jeremy Hunt is delivering his first Autumn Budget (Image: Getty Images)

Jeremy Hunt, Chancellor of the Exchequer, has today announced his Spring budget, as the government attempts to navigate Brits through the ongoing cost of living crisis.

This will be Mr Hunt's first full budget as chancellor, having been appointed the position by former PM Liz Truss in October 2022 after the dismissal of Kwasi Kwarteng. It's only been a few months since he announced the Autumn Statement, after he was brought in to try to fix the economic chaos caused by the former Prime Minister.

The Chancellor announced a "budget for growth", which includes plans to halve inflation, which he claims is the main reason for the various strikes we have seen over the past few months.

Jeremy Hunt's budget comes as junior doctors go on strike (UK PARLIAMENT/AFP via Getty Imag)

The budget comes at a pivotal moment for the government, as NHS junior doctors are in the middle of a 72-hour strike over pay and conditions.

Mr Hunt, who previously served as the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care from 2012 to 2018, previously faced controversy in 2017 when he clashed with Professor Stephen Hawking over funding for the health service.

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The scientist, who passed away on March 14 2018, criticised the Tory government's handling of the NHS, and accused the then-Health Secretary of "abusing science".

The renowned scientist and lifelong Labour supported said Mr Hunt was "cherry-picking" evidence to suit his argument. The politician was defending his argument for having a seven-day health service, citing studies that death rates were highest at weekends.

Stephen Hawking responded to Hunt's statements (AFP/Getty Images)

Mr Hunt reformed junior doctor contracts in 2016. The terms of the contract caused widespread controversy, sparking a junior doctor strike. They claimed Mr Hunt was trying to implement a seven-day NHS, while only paying them for a five-day service.

Writing in The Guardian, Professor Hawking said: "Hunt had cherry-picked research to justify his argument. For a scientist, cherry-picking evidence is unacceptable.

"When public figures abuse scientific argument, citing some studies but suppressing others to justify policies they want to implement for other reasons, it debases scientific culture.

"One consequence of this sort of behaviour is that it leads ordinary people to not trust science at a time when scientific research and progress are more important than ever"

Mr Hawking, who had motor neurone disease, went on to say that he "would not be here today if it were not for the service", and accused the Conservatives of putting the NHS in crisis.

The Professor continued: "Hunt's statement that funding and the number of doctors and nurses are at an all-time high is a distraction.

"Record funding is not the same thing as adequate funding. There is overwhelming evidence that NHS funding and the numbers of doctors and nurses are inadequate, and it is getting worse."

In response, Mr Hunt tweeted at the time: "Stephen Hawking is (a) brilliant physicist but wrong on lack of evidence for weekend effect.

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"(The) 2015 Fremantle study (is the) most comprehensive ever and whatever entrenched opposition, no responsible Health Secretary could ignore it if you want NHS to be (the) safest health service in (the) world as I do."

According to the government, the study concluded that the data "raises challenging questions about reduced service provision at weekends".

Ariane Sohrabi-Shiraz