'Conservatives are planning to lose the next general election'

The Conservatives are “planning to lose the next general election”, it has been claimed.

It comes ahead of the next prime minister being announced on Monday.

Labour frontbencher Wes Streeting suggested the Conservatives are failing to recruit medicine trainees because they do not believe that they will be in power in the coming years.

Streeting made the remarks as he spoke to the Telegraph newspaper as he made a direct appeal to Tory voters across the UK.

The shadow health secretary claimed that it was “recklessly short sighted” of the party to take such an approach to NHS recruitment.

“I think the Conservatives are planning to lose the next general election,” he said.

“(The Tories) have concluded there’s no point recruiting medicine trainees because they’re not going to come into work until there’s a Labour government in place.

“I think that’s recklessly short sighted.”

Streeting, 39, added: “I don’t know what other explanation there is. For them to turn away bright young people from university places they desperately want to take up.

“That is threatening the future pipeline. We should be developing our homegrown talent for the NHS.”

The Labour frontbencher explained that his father has voted for the Conservatives in the past.

“My politics are very much rooted on the centre left,” he said.

“He’s not voted Conservative in recent elections. I think my dad’s vote is up for grabs and so are the votes of other Conservatives.”

Streeting also outlined Labour’s stance on the union.

“I want to speak directly to Conservative voters, who I think are hugely disaffected with this Conservative government,” he said.

“I hope that they will give us a fresh look. The Labour Party only ever wins elections when it creates a broad coalition of voters.”

Leaving the European Union is “settled”, Streeting said, while describing Labour as a “committed unionist party”

He added: “We are absolutely trying to appeal to Tory voters”.