Revealed: The hard-Left eco-mob trying to derail NHS pay deal have links to Extinction Rebellion and want to bring down the Government

• NHS Workers Say No want staff to relaunch strike action and reject pay rises
• Figures behind group are supporters of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn 
• Actions could undermine the weeks of work done to reach improved pay offer  

The hard-Left activists trying to derail a new NHS pay deal have links to Extinction Rebellion and are campaigning to bring down the Government, the Mail can reveal today.

The NHS Workers Say No group wants nurses, paramedics and physiotherapists to relaunch strikes and reject the 5 per cent pay rise and bonus negotiated by their unions.

Key figures behind the campaign group are supporters of former Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn, who have publicly stated that they want to ‘get the Tories out’ and want to sow chaos and further disruption by stepping up strike action, our investigation found.

Unions spent weeks thrashing out an improved pay offer with Health Secretary Steve Barclay and have urged members to back it in a ballot.

But the militants threaten to undermine the progress, with patients made to wait longer for care if the deal is rejected and strikes force NHS bosses to cancel hundreds of thousands more appointments and operations.

A key individual behind the group is Harry Eccles (right), a self-described ‘libertarian socialist’, who has campaigned for Labour and who still expresses his support for Mr Corbyn

 NHS Workers Say No was co-founded by Holly Turner (pictured left with Jeremy Corbyn) a firebrand campaigner and nurse, who has called for a general strike

NHS Workers Say No is part of an ‘alliance’ of hard-line organisations that includes Extinction Rebellion, Black Lives Matter, Don’t Pay UK and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.

Together, they are ‘demanding systemic change to tackle the interconnected crises of climate, cost of living, and politics’.

NHS Workers Say No has been described as part of the ‘Left and anti-Tory resistance movement’ and has also campaigned with the Socialist Party, the Marxist splinter group formerly called the Militant Tendency, as well as leading Labour politicians.

NHS Workers Say No was co-founded by Holly Turner, a firebrand campaigner and nurse, who has called for a general strike. She has openly admitted that strikes are aimed at ‘putting the Tories on the ropes’ and has continued to express ‘solidarity’ with Jeremy Corbyn – describing him as ‘our biggest champion and supporter’. 

She has called a lack of coordination between unions ‘frustrating’, adding in a Twitter post: ‘Workers know that they can bring the country to a halt if they want to, the last three months have clearly demonstrated that.’ 

In her role with NHS Workers Say No she has regularly campaigned alongside Corbynite MPs still on the Labour benches, including John McDonnell, Diane Abbott, Richard Burgon and Zara Sultana.

She is highly critical of Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer.

NHS Workers Say No has been described as part of the ‘Left and anti-Tory resistance movement’ and has also campaigned with the Socialist Party, the Marxist splinter group formerly called the Militant Tendency, as well as leading Labour politicians

NHS Workers Say No is part of an ‘alliance’ of hard-line organisations that includes Extinction Rebellion, Black Lives Matter, Don’t Pay UK and the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament

Another key individual behind the group is Harry Eccles, a self-described ‘libertarian socialist’, who has campaigned for Labour and who still expresses his support for Mr Corbyn.

Mr Eccles wants the Conservatives permanently out of office and for Labour to ‘rediscover’ socialism. NHS Workers Say No has sent out thousands of leaflets, held online calls and started WhatsApp networks in an effort to persuade members to vote against the new pay deal. 

Its leaflet – Healthworker Bulletin – tells readers: ‘Think what we could achieve if we reject this offer, re-ballot to renew and extend our strike mandates to cover more staff and step up the action.’

A Conservative source said: ‘The Government has offered a fair and reasonable pay offer – recommended by the leaders of major health unions – that if accepted will see more than one million NHS staff receive an additional pay rise.

‘It’s clear that those campaigning against this are simply playing politics and are more interested in an ideological quest for Corbyn-style socialism than getting on with improving our NHS for patients.’

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