Rishi Sunak has touched on nationwide industrial action in his New Year speech.

“I know there are challenges in A&E, people are understandably anxious when they see ambulances queuing outside hospitals,” said Mr Sunak, first mentioning the nurses’ strikes.

He said the government was “taking urgent action... providing new funding to release people into social care in the community”.

Mr Sunak alluded to “misinformation out there” about the strikes, saying that the government “hugely value[s] public sector workers such as nurses”, and adding: “We want a reasonable dialogue with the unions about what’s responsible and fair for our country.”

He said that ministers would update the public on the government’s next steps in the coming days.

Mr Sunak said: “People don’t want politicians who promise the earth and fail to deliver,” but insisted his priorities were aligned with the public’s for 2023.

The prime minister is expected to comment on NHS nursing strikes in his first public speech of the New Year.

In a speech about the government’s priorities for the coming year, Rishi Sunak is expected to talk about issues including the backlog of millions of patients awaiting treatment and ambulance delays.

The health service is struggling under high demand while further staff strikes loom – including by nurses and ambulance workers

Briefings of the speech revealed that Mr Sunak will also take the opportunity to warn that Britain cannot afford to meet the pay demands of striking workers and confirm his plans to bring new laws to limit industrial action.

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Mick Lynch has compared UK government ministers’ reaction to country-wide strikes to “oppressive regimes”.

Saying Grant Shapps wanted to “conscript agency workers to go into work” during strikes, and ministers wanting to “ban strikes by having minimum services”, the RMT Union general secretary told LBC News the approach was “unacceptable in a free society”.

“You're talking about the conscription of labour even during a lawful dispute, and I would have to name my members that went to work to break our own picket lines,” he said.

“That's unacceptable in a free society. We're always being told that repressive regimes do things against the public.”

Mr Lynch compared what he called “anti-strike laws” to work practices in China and Russia, saying that trade unions were “campaigning against poverty and oppressive work practices”.

The current, scheduled transport strike dates have been given until 7 January - but the RMT Union boss Mick Lynch has warned that industrial action could continue into May if no agreement is reached between employers and unions.

The major RMT train strikes, like the one taking place today (4 January), are scheduled for: 4, 6 and 7 January 2023. These involve some 40,000 transport workers for Network Rail and more than a dozen train operators walking out for 24 hours. Disruption is expected to spill over into the following day and “between days” around the strikes.

On Thursday 5 January, Aslef train drivers will walk out for 24 hours. Operator Southeastern has warned there will be no trains on 5 January due to the Aslef strike.

Outside of rail, bus drivers working for Abellio will go on strike on: 4, 5, 10, 12, 16, 19, 25 and 26 January. This mainly affects bus routes in south and west London.

Users of London’s Elizabeth line will want to know about a one-day strike on 12 January, when members of the Prospect Union working on the line from Essex to Berkshire will walk out.

Bus drivers working for Abellio have planned industrial action between 4 and 26 January, affecting mainly buses in south and west London.

The drivers are members of the Unite union, and eight separate walk-out dates have been announced which will affect those planning to use the capital’s bus network.

The latest action is due to an ongoing dispute over pay. The drivers are all based at garages in Battersea, Beddington, Hayes, Southall, Twickenham and Walworth.

On strike days, affected routes may not run at all, while some will run a reduced service within certain hours; meanwhile, TflL has warned that other bus services may be busier than usual.

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The government cannot afford to give transport workers a “inflation-busting pay increase”, the Conservative MP Geoffrey Clifton-Brown has said.

“What we cannot afford... is to give rail workers an inflation-busting pay increase of 10 per cent or more,” Mr Clifton-Brown told TalkTV.

He added that those on the lowest incomes had been given a “substantial package” and that more money would be made available to them.

When asked if Rishi Sunak would intervene in the union negotiations, the MP told presenters: “I think the prime minister will be weighing this carefully up to see whether his intervention would actually bring about a breakthrough.”

Rail workers with the RMT union this week continue their strike over pay, jobs and working conditions.

Network Rail offered RMT members a 5 per cent pay rise last year and a 4 per cent pay rise in 2023 (9 per cent in total).

The rail infrastructure manager has also guaranteed no compulsory redundancies before 2025 and no changes to Network Rail employees’ terms and conditions.

Other perks included discounted rail travel for staff’s family and friends; Network Rail described the deal as its “best and final” offer.

RMT members rejected the offer, saying they are looking for a “negotiated settlement” but have not put a number on what they expect in terms of a pay rise.

In reference to the latest Network Rail offer, RMT general secretary Mick Lynch said: “We will resist that and our members, along with the entire trade union movement will continue their campaign for a square deal for workers, decent pay increases and good working conditions.”

He called the offer “substandard”.

The RMT alleges a 50 per cent cut in scheduled maintenance tasks was also outlined by Network Rail in this recent offer; the deal was dependent on changes to working practices in maintenance teams, which would involve 1,900 job losses.

The union also says the deal would involve a 30 per cent increase in unsocial hours. Network Rail disputes this.

Mick Lynch has joined striking workers the picket line at Euston station on the second day of the latest round of train strikes.

The RMT leader has been a common sight outside the central London terminal during the long-running dispute over jobs and pay for rail workers.

RMT members working for Network Rail will strike today and again on Friday and Saturday.

Business groups are meeting with Chancellor Jeremy Hunt today over government plans for help on energy bills amid fears the support will be halved after the current scheme ends in March.

Ministers have yet to publish details promised for the end of last year to inform firms of the support they can expect.

The current scheme – which caps wholesale energy prices on electricity and gas at about half the expected market price – ends in March.

Households have already been told that their bills will be capped until April 2024, albeit at a higher rate than the current £2,500 annual cost, while firms have been kept in the dark.

Mr Hunt is said to be considering plans to keep support in place for all UK companies after the existing scheme draws to a close, in what would mark a U-turn on aims to target only the vulnerable sectors.

The revised scheme is expected to offer help with bills for a further year, until March 2024.

Mr Hunt is understood to be calling a lunchtime meeting to brief the business groups on what shape the support will take, with the Federation of Small Businesses, UK Hospitality, the CBI and the British Chambers of Commerce among those expected to attend.

Most of London’s internal rail network will continue to run during the RMT and Aslef strikes this week.

However, TfL has warned of disruption and cancellations of certain services on the London Underground and other lines. The disrupted services follow.

Earlier, The Independent listed all train services across Britain that will be affected by strikes. By region: Southern England [07.45], Scotland [07.16], Wales [08.50] northern England [08.31] and the West Midlands [08.04].

Limited services will run 7.30am to 6pm (no trains before or after) from Wimbledon – Parsons Green and Richmond – Turnham Green

The rest of the line will run as normal.

No trains between Queens Park and Harrow & Wealdstone

Reduced service

Reduced service. Trains will run in 3 sections.

Liverpool Street – Shenfield (not stopping at Whitechapel): Two trains per hour between 7.30am and 5.30pm.

Abbey Wood – Paddington: 12 trains per hour before 5.30pm, six trains per hour after. Today and on Saturday six trains will run per hour before 8am.

Paddington – Heathrow and Reading: Train will run between 7.30am and 5.30pm. Two per hour from Paddington to Reading and two per hour from Paddingtom to Heathrow Terminal 4.

Reduced service. Trains will run between 7.30am and 6pm.

Night Overground will not run on strike days

Richmond/Clapham Junction – Stratford: Reduced service

Highbury and Islington – West Croydon/Clapham Junction/Crystal Palace

• 2 trains per hour between Highbury & Islington and West Croydon

• 2 trains per hour between Highbury & Islington and Clapham Junction

• 2 trains per hour between Highbury & Islington and Crystal Palace

Gospel Oak – Barking

Liverpool Street – Chingford/Cheshunt/Enfield Town

• 2 trains per hour between Liverpool Street and Enfield Town

• 2 trains per hour between Liverpool Street and Chingford

• 1 train per hour between Liverpool Street and Cheshunt

Euston – Watford Junction

• No trains will run on Saturday 17 December

• 2 trains per hour between Euston and Watford Junction

• 2 trains per hour between Euston and Kilburn High Road

Romford – Upminster

• No service expected