Nottinghamshire local pharmaceutical committee (LPC) chair Rob Severn (pictured) told C+D that Mr Clarke believes there are "possibly too many pharmacies" – a view espoused by health secretary Jeremy Hunt last month.

"Ken Clarke's view on community pharmacy is that the public will vote with their feet," said Mr Severn.

Mr Clarke, who has been an MP for Rushcliffe in Nottinghamshire since 1970 and used to serve in the Department of Health, visited Well Pharmacy in Radcliffe-on-Trent last week (February 3), after nine months of organisation by the LPC.

Mr Severn said the veteran MP was “very interested” in the Pharmaceutical Services Negotiating Committee’s (PSNC) counter proposals to the pharmacy funding cuts, and asked for more information to be sent to him at the Houses of Parliament.

“We explained that [PSNC’s proposals] could save money, but they have been ignored,” Mr Severn said. “We talked about the contract for a while, and he was open to the counter-proposal argument.”

The negotiator published its money-saving vision for the sector last year, which it argued was an alternative to the funding drop.

Mr Severn stressed to C+D that combatting the pharmacy cuts is “about persistence” and “reinforcing what pharmacy can do”.

Tories have put pharmacies “at risk”

Labour’s shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth (pictured second right) visited Norfolk Street Pharmacy in Stoke-on-Trent yesterday (February 6) as part of the by-election campaign in the constituency.

Mr Ashworth argued “the Tories have put the future of community pharmacies at risk” and highlighted that five pharmacy businesses could face closure in Stoke alone.

Mr Ashworth was joined by Labour candidate Gareth Snell (pictured far right), who said “axing these critical services” would “hit the elderly the hardest”.