SBC News Voice of the Sports Betting Industry
With the first all out NHS junior doctors strike, there is much speculation about the fate of Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt.
David Cameron has publicly backed Hunt’s handling of junior doctors but a huge amount of these doctors, which it’s key to highlight includes any doctor below consultant or GP level, are not in agreement with the PM’s stance. Junior doctors makeup around half of the NHS medical workforce and the strike action is planned to continue until 5pm on April 27th as it stands.
Jeremy Hunt has previously stated that his current role is “likely to be his (sic) last in politics.”
William Hill is offering odds of 11/10 that Jeremy Hunt will no longer be Healthy Secretary by the end of 2016, and odds of 4/6 that he’ll hold the role on January 1st 2017.
William Hill spokesman Graham Sharpe said of the matter: “Mr Hunt is taking a firm line over the doctors’ strike which could ultimately cost him what he has already called his ‘last big job in politics’.”
Jeremy Hunt is a 33/1 outsider to become the next elected Tory leader with William Hill, which has also cut the odds for Theresa May to succeed David Cameron from 7/1 to 6/1 behind Brexit leader Boris Johnson and George Osborne.
Before you place a bet on Hunt to be gone though, consider the viewpoint of Ladbrokes’ Head of Political Betting Matthew Shaddick: “I can recall the enormous pressure he was under to quit as Culture Secretary back in 2012, when he was under even more scrutiny than he is now. He rode that out and got a promotion. So, despite his current unpopularity, I think I’d steer clear of backing Hunt to be moving jobs any time soon.”
He continued: “There will almost certainly be a cabinet shake up in the summer if Leave wins; though it’s not clear whether much will happen if Remain does. Either way, Cameron is not a PM who likes moving ministers very often and it’s also not clear that they have any intention of changing policy on the NHS; so it’s not obvious there is much to be gained from ditching Hunt. It might make a lot more sense to keep him there until current reforms are seen through.”
Hunt to be out of the role is currently at 5/6 either way at Ladbrokes.
