-
Labour calls for audit of UK’s preparedness for next pandemic

Shadow health secretary attacks Tory handling of crisis and calls for regular war-gaming of future outbreaks Labour
Ministers must start war-gaming the next pandemic and their plans should be independently audited to prove the UK is prepared for global health threats to come, Labour’s Jon Ashworth has said.
The shadow health secretary will give a speech on Tuesday attempting to refocus the blame for the catastrophic UK death toll on government failings, after polls showed support for Boris Johnson surging on the back of the the vaccine programme.
Ashworth said Labour would introduce statutory duties to plan, audit and invest in pandemic response, alongside obligatory training for ministers in “germ-gaming”, imitating how the military prepares for conflict scenarios.
Speaking to the Guardian, Ashworth said Labour needed to highlight not only that the UK was “ill-prepared and ignored the warnings” about the Covid-19 pandemic but that there was more it could be doing now to prepare for future threats.
“We have been warned repeatedly this is the era of pandemics,” he said. “When you look at what is happening to the world with the destruction of biodiversity and environmental degradation, we are creating the conditions for pathogens to jump from animals for humans because we are destroying their habitats.
“We’ve seen Ebola emerge from bats, Nipah fever, which has a 70% death rate, from fruit bats, we’ve seen Zika emerge from mosquitos, and three coronavirus pandemics – Sars, Mers and Cov-2. The warnings were there.”
Ashworth said the UK having the worst death toll in Europe and one of the worst economic crises was preventable. “When you look at history – the fundamentals don’t change. With Spanish flu there were masks, schools closed and mass gatherings were banned. These are age-old techniques.
But Boris Johnson did not want to face up to the reality. He was attending Twickenham, shaking people by the hand, talking about taking it on the chin, sending it packing in 12 weeks. We should not be in that situation again, where a prime minister is so complacent … which is why ministers should be required to do these germ-gaming exercises.”
In his speech at the Institute for Public Policy Research, Ashworth will say the NHS was undermined by a decade of complacency and cuts, with 17,000 fewer NHS beds than in 2010 and with a health workforce smaller than those of other advanced economies.
He will say the government should submit itself to a health resilience audit, for which ministers must answer, similar to how the Office for Budget Responsibility looks at economic policy.
Labour in government would run regular germ-gaming to prepare for future pandemics, and prioritise research and development investment into vaccines and therapeutics, he will say.
The speech will highlight the need to work on combating climate change and threats to biodiversity. Ashworth will say the risk of pandemics is rapidly increasing, with more than five new diseases emerging in people every year, and an estimated 800,000 viruses that could potentially infect humans.
He will say Johnson’s leadership “ignored the warnings and weakened our defences … Given we know the scale of the risks, it would be unforgivable to be on the back foot again. Governments rightly invest in defence planning. Practising for pandemics should be no different.”
source: Jessica Elgot
Levant
You May Also Like
Popular Posts
Caricature
BENEFIT Sponsors BuildHer...
- April 23, 2025
BENEFIT, the Kingdom’s innovator and leading company in Fintech and electronic financial transactions service, has sponsored the BuildHer CityHack 2025 Hackathon, a two-day event spearheaded by the College of Engineering and Technology at the Royal University for Women (RUW).
Aimed at secondary school students, the event brought together a distinguished group of academic professionals and technology experts to mentor and inspire young participants.
More than 100 high school students from across the Kingdom of Bahrain took part in the hackathon, which featured an intensive programme of training workshops and hands-on sessions. These activities were tailored to enhance participants’ critical thinking, collaborative problem-solving, and team-building capabilities, while also encouraging the development of practical and sustainable solutions to contemporary challenges using modern technological tools.
BENEFIT’s Chief Executive Mr. Abdulwahed AlJanahi, commented: “Our support for this educational hackathon reflects our long-term strategic vision to nurture the talents of emerging national youth and empower the next generation of accomplished female leaders in technology. By fostering creativity and innovation, we aim to contribute meaningfully to Bahrain’s comprehensive development goals and align with the aspirations outlined in the Kingdom’s Vision 2030—an ambition in which BENEFIT plays a central role.”
Professor Riyadh Yousif Hamzah, President of the Royal University for Women, commented: “This initiative reflects our commitment to advancing women in STEM fields. We're cultivating a generation of creative, solution-driven female leaders who will drive national development. Our partnership with BENEFIT exemplifies the powerful synergy between academia and private sector in supporting educational innovation.”
Hanan Abdulla Hasan, Senior Manager, PR & Communication at BENEFIT, said: “We are honoured to collaborate with RUW in supporting this remarkable technology-focused event. It highlights our commitment to social responsibility, and our ongoing efforts to enhance the digital and innovation capabilities of young Bahraini women and foster their ability to harness technological tools in the service of a smarter, more sustainable future.”
For his part, Dr. Humam ElAgha, Acting Dean of the College of Engineering and Technology at the University, said: “BuildHer CityHack 2025 embodies our hands-on approach to education. By tackling real-world problems through creative thinking and sustainable solutions, we're preparing women to thrive in the knowledge economy – a cornerstone of the University's vision.”
opinion
Report
ads
Newsletter
Subscribe to our mailing list to get the new updates!