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The
NHS and social care would receive an extra £6bn a year from the Liberal
Democrats, it has been announced. The new funding is the first of the
party’s election manifesto commitments and will be paid for through an
immediate 1p rise on all rates of income tax.
The
funding will be ring-fenced to be spent only on the NHS and social care
and will provide vital services with the money they desperately need
until a longer-term solution can be found.
This
is the party’s flagship spending commitment and its first major policy
announcement for the election. The Liberal Democrats manifesto will set
out a ‘five-point recovery plan’ for NHS and social care services in
their manifesto.
Liberal Democrat Leader, Tim Farron, said:
"Theresa
May doesn't care about the NHS or social care. People are lying on
trolleys in hospital corridors and she has done nothing. The truth is
you can't have a strong NHS with a Hard Brexit.
"The
Liberal Democrats will rescue the NHS and social care. We are prepared
to be honest with people and say that we will all need to chip in a
little more.
"It
is not too late to change Britain's future. The Conservatives want
absolute power, Labour are too weak to stand up to them, so we will. The
Liberal Democrats will be the strong opposition Britain needs."
Liberal Democrat Shadow Secretary of State for Health, Norman Lamb, added:
“The NHS was once the envy of the world and this pledge is the first step in restoring it to where it should be.
“A penny on the pound to save the NHS is money well spent in our view.
“Simply
providing more money on its own is not enough and that’s why this is
just the first step in our plan to protect health and care services
long-term.
“We
also need to do much more to keep people fit and healthy and out of
hospital, and that is why this new funding will be targeted to those
areas that have the greatest impact on patient care such as social care,
general practice, mental health and public health.
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