£4bn boost for NHS just not enough
Labour blasts Tories’ funding plans
LABOUR has warned a planned £4billion-a-year funding increase for the NHS is nowhere near enough to rescue the ailing service.
The boost is set to be announced by PM Theresa May on Monday.
But Shadow Health Minister Justin Madders said the promise “doesn’t come close” to fixing the NHS, which is struggling to cope with demand after years of Tory under-funding.
Mr Madders, 45, said: “The Government’s plan for long-term funding doesn’t begin to meet our NHS’s needs.
“The Tories won’t match Labour’s costed plan to put nearly £9billion into health and social care for the first year of this Parliament and £45billion over the course of a Parliament.
“They refuse to stand up to vested interests and demand the bankers, tax dodgers, big corporations and top 5% of earners pay a little bit more.”
The extra cash will reportedly come from borrowing, a “Brexit dividend” and freezing the income tax personal allowance. This latter measure could draw thousands of the lowest earners into paying income tax as wages rise.
Since 2015 the threshold has gone up annually to ensure full-time minimum wage workers pay nothing. No10 would not be drawn on the matter. But referring to money saved by Brexit, a spokeswoman said: “The days of sending vast sums to Brussels are coming to an end and that will allow money to be spent on other priorities – that includes the NHS.”
Yesterday we told how Tory peer Lord Prior has joined calls for a 1p rise in NI to help safeguard the health service.