Labour must deliver on its promise of “change” to save our NHS – Keep Our NHS Public
Keep Our NHS Public’s have published a post-election statement on Labour’s win and the new challenges faced by NHS campaigners.
After a lacklustre six-week-long election campaign we now know that Labour will form the next government.
Following fourteen years of punishing Conservative rule, and with a sizeable parliamentary majority, it is time for Labour to repay the electorate with a real commitment to improve people’s lives.
Expectations are high, especially for those who have been directly impacted by the NHS crisis, not least the families of those who have lost relatives unnecessarily, waiting for ambulances or languishing on the 7.5 million-long NHS waiting lists. The NHS must be set back on its feet once more.
For this to happen, health services must be restored in line with the founding principles of the NHS and social care needs radical transformation. However, it is of great concern that this does not appear to be the vision for the NHS put forward by Starmer and Streeting throughout the election, and we call on the new Labour Government to declare an immediate national emergency in health and care, as have the BMA and the RCN.
We also note that some independent candidates have won seats advocating for a fully public NHS, a fact which vindicates our belief that NHS privatisation is a key concern for many voters. This includes Jeremy Corbyn, one of KONP’s national patrons.
The Greens now have 4 seats and call for the largest increase in NHS funding. The Lib Dems with over 70 seats are calling for an emergency budget for health and care.
Today marks the 76th anniversary of the historic creation of the NHS on 5th July 1948. Labour should reflect on the ambition and boldness of the 1945 Attlee government, undeterred by record debt and the ravages of war. Now, just as then, a strong health service is a prerequisite for social and economic recovery – if we allow our NHS to fail, the economy will fail with it.
If Labour’s overworked slogan of unspecified ‘Change’ is to have any meaning, it must encompass a move away from neoliberal orthodoxy. In its place must come investment in public services, promotion of social justice, poverty reduction, wealth redistribution, care for the environment and a focus across government departments on reducing health inequalities.
The Conservative party is being pushed further to the right by loss of power and the growth of Reform. The stakes are high and there is an urgent need for ‘deeds, not words’ if, as Keir Starmer has recognised, the alarming rise in the populist right taking place in France is to be halted in Britain.
Delivering on health care is a good place to start, and it is an urgent priority to fully invest in the NHS, including committing to full pay restoration for NHS staff.
Much more is demanded of Labour than relying on tinkering reforms and tired old claims that shifting care into the community, preventing illness and greater reliance on technology will, in the absence of funding, deliver a rapid transformation.
We hope our constructive comments on these lacklustre manifesto promises will be listened to. For those who still persist in claiming that the NHS is a bottomless pit and needs reform not more funding, we remind them that under the Blair-Brown government NHS performance was improved by investing in staff and increased funding , allowing the NHS to be one of the best services in the world.
Since then growing demand and damaging austerity policies have seen an cumulative funding gap over 10 years of £362 bn deficit. To match per capita spending on health by comparable European neighbours we need around £40bn more each year. Lack of capital investment has resulted in crumbling estate and outdated equipment, which together with staff shortages drive inefficiency, lack of productivity and poorer outcomes.
However, as we have previously emphasised, it is not just money that is needed but also a change in how politicians see the NHS and an end to the policy that invites profit-taking private healthcare to come in and undermine the NHS.
To achieve effectiveness, equity and resilience we need to build consensus on the essential good of a fully public and universal NHS based on values of the right to healthcare, security, justice and compassion. Myths of un-affordability and the efficiency of privatised services need to be dispelled and the vital role of public health reaffirmed.
Policies must be based on an understanding of evidence of the level and nature of health needs. Health and care services should be seen as an asset and not a drain on resources. This is the only way to bring about real ‘change’.
Let this NHS anniversary and this new Government be an opportunity to restore a truly ‘People’s NHS’ as its founders in the Labour Government in 1948 intended.
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- This statement was originally published by Keep Our NHS Public on July 5th, 2024.
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