A North Tyneside Tory councillor has been spotted in a Rishi Sunak video, now viewed over 1.1m, raising concerns about GP appointment waiting lists.

The video was posted on X, formerly Twitter.

Coun Olly Scargill features in the video, filmed in a cafe in the PM’s Richmond constituency, raising concerns about people’s difficulties getting to see their local General Practitioner.

The PM also spoke to other participants who raised their concerns over the economy, immigration, and inflation.

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The words accompanying the video from Suank’s account said: “Enjoyed chatting to people across the country over a cuppa recently. We spoke about priorities, why I’m doing politics differently and, of course, what I could be doing better”. 

Medical student and councillor Olly Scargill told Sunak: “What people are most concerned about is just about getting a GP appointment, it just feels impossible. You’re sitting in a call queue.  last time I rang up I think I was number 70”. 

Speaking to the local democracy reporting service after the event, coun Scargill said: “It was supposed to be down-to-earth with people, it was not about party politics, it was about what matters to people. 

“I took the opportunity to chat about waiting lists. When you call up to get a GP appointment you can be in a long queue. I wanted to know that he was doing something to tackle this and I am grateful for the opportunity to ask that”. 

However, the video did not advertise coun Scargill’s party affiliation. The Collingwood representative denies this was misleading and has defended the video and his participation. 

Coun Scargill said: “I don’t think it was misleading, it was a conversation on how the PM was doing and getting the country moving again. 

“I don’t think it’s relevant, if I had sat there and said I’m undecided and then now I’m pro-RIshi that would have been disingenuous I sat there and talked about the issues with the NHS and what the Government are doing to decrease waiting times. 

“It’s not political, it’s not trying to get subliminal messaging out there, it’s what most people are thinking. I don’t think the fact that I am a councillor in my spare time is relevant. 

“I was just raising concerns about GPs and what we can be doing to support our great GPs across the North East. I’m there as an ordinary person asking about how we can improve healthcare.” 

When asked about why the councillor’s affiliation was not advertised in the video, a Conservative Party spokesperson said: “The Prime Minister spoke to a variety of people with different backgrounds to gauge their views as he continues to deliver on the people’s priorities of halving inflation, reducing debt, growing the economy, cutting waiting lists and stopping the boats.”