Election watch – week one

Labour jumped on the British Medical Association’s suggestion that the coming winter was set to be one of the worst ever for the NHS, insisting the NHS was in crisis under the Tory government. Shadow chancellor John McDonnell pledged £150bn over five years to be spent on a range of public services, including the upgrade and expansion of hospitals and care homes.

Boris Johnson launched his election campaign by reiterating his promised investment in the NHS and the claim that his government had given the green light to 40 new hospitals. The Conservatives said an NHS visa would be included in its points-based immigration system to make it easier for doctors and nurses from around the world to come to work in the NHS after Brexit.

The Lib Dems said its plan to stop Brexit would lead to a £50bn remain bonus that would be spent on public services. The party pledged to spend £11bn on mental healthcare raised through adding a penny on the pound on income tax. The SNP promised to bring forward an NHS protection bill to stop the health service being included in a trade deal with the United States.

As a footnote to the dissolution of Parliament, a bill to give Northern Ireland a budget for 2019/20 was passed – essential in the absence of the local Assembly. And NHS chief executive Simon Stevens issued guidance on the purdah period in the run-up to the election.