Our response to Labour's manifesto

While the £30 billion sum will provide a welcome relief in the short term, in three or four years’ time a funding gap will re-emerge as NHS costs continue to rise.

Press release

Published: 16/05/2017

“We have consistently argued that the NHS needs more funding simply to keep up with the growing and ageing population, so it is good that Labour have responded to these concerns by making a real and significant immediate commitment. 

“The £30 billion increase they have announced over the course of the next parliament refers to a one-off boost of £6 billion in the first year, counted five times, rather than meaning that spending would be £30 billion higher at the end of the Parliament.  While this sum will provide a welcome relief in the short term, in three or four years’ time a funding gap will re-emerge as NHS costs continue to rise, and our current problems will return. A longer-term commitment to keep pace with rising prices, wages and the ageing population is still needed.

While this sum will provide a welcome relief in the short term, in three or four years’ time a funding gap will re-emerge as NHS costs continue to rise, and our current problems will return. A longer-term commitment to keep pace with rising prices, wages and the ageing population is still needed.

Nigel Edwards, Chief Executive, Nuffield Trust

“The proposal to create an Office for Budget Responsibility for Health is an idea we have long championed, so it is encouraging to see it adopted as party policy. Similarly, we welcome many of the proposals on the NHS workforce – from guaranteeing the rights of EU workers to support for increases in pay. We have long argued that low morale and staff shortages make the NHS workforce crisis as serious as the funding crisis.             

“We worry that sweeping legal changes to reduce contracting with private and voluntary sector providers would take up valuable time and money without really helping tackle the biggest problems the NHS faces”.

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