News / Parties jostle for position as election campaign gains pace

03 May 2017 Seamus Ward

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The NHS looks set to be a key battleground before the 8 June general election, with Labour setting out early plans and the Conservatives defending their record in government.

Jon Ashworth

Even before the dissolution of Parliament, which was due on 3 May, Labour launched the first part of its long-term plan for the NHS. Focusing on staff issues in England, it said that if it were in government it would scrap the 1% cap on pay rises, reinstate the bursaries for student nurses and legislate for safe staffing levels.

Shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth said the party would ask the pay review bodies to recommend rises that would take account of the cost of living. These would then be implemented. 

He added that the removal of nursing student bursaries had led to a 25% drop in applicants for nursing courses. ‘Our first step would be investing in staff – giving them a pay rise, investing in training and making the point that safe staffing is important for patient safety,’ he said.

Mr Ashworth said the second part of its plan – on NHS finances – would be unveiled in the party’s manifesto, which is due to be published in the middle of May. 

‘We will give the NHS the funding it needs,’ he added, confirming that it was the Labour Party’s ‘ambition’ to bring NHS-funded care currently provided by the private sector back into the NHS.

While giving little detail of his party’s plans for the future of the health service, health secretary Jeremy Hunt tried to move the debate back to the importance of a good outcome in negotiations with the European Union. He said the Conservatives would deliver the best deal for the UK, which would strengthen the economy and ensure there is more money for the NHS.

‘We want to continue increasing funding for the NHS so it is critical we get a good outcome in the Brexit negotiations so we can protect the economy and protect the NHS,’ he told the BBC.

Mr Hunt defended his party’s record on the NHS, saying around £6.5bn had been invested in the service in the last three years and an additional 12,000 nurses had been recruited. Removing the nursing bursary would allow more nurses to be trained – though applications had decreased this year, he believed they would recover. He added that a returning Conservative government would seek a sustainable solution on social care funding.

There were questions over how Labour would pay for its spending commitments. The party said that it would reverse recent drops in corporation tax, but some economic commentators said other shadow secretaries had earmarked these funds for their spending plans. 

Mr Ashworth insisted the Labour manifesto commitments would be fully costed, adding that a Labour government would also look to make savings in health spending – by cutting the amount spent on agency staff, for example.

As Healthcare Finance went to press, the Liberal Democrats had not made a statement on health, though it has previously committed to extra funding and increased care standards.