This article, by Alex Seabrook, begins
‘KARIN SMYTH AND CARLA DENYER CLASH OVER NHS FUNDING CLAIMS
Two Bristol candidates in the general election traded blows on the weekend over how to fix the NHS.
The health service will be one of the key issues for many voters in the upcoming election on July 4.
Karin Smyth, the incumbent candidate for Bristol South and Labour shadow health minister, claimed the Green Party’s investment plans were similar to Liz Truss’s infamous mini-budget.
The Greens want to increase NHS spending by an extra £28 billion by 2030.
She was joined on the BBC’s Politics West programme on June 16 by Carla Denyer, the Green candidate for Bristol Central and co-leader of the Green Party.
Denyer defended her party’s plans and claimed a Labour government would result in cuts to the health service.
Denyer said: “Did you see the Nuffield Trust assessment of the Labour and Conservative NHS investment plans? They said that both of them were unrealistic and would result in cuts, even related to the current spending. The Nuffield Trust has been clear that neither Labour nor the Conservatives are offering the investment needed.
“Our manifesto is fully costed and fully funded. The Green Party is the only party that is prepared to be honest in this election about the scale of investment that’s needed to fix our crumbling public services, whether it’s schools or NHS and social care. That’s by adjusting our tax system to make sure that those with the broadest shoulders can most afford to pay.”
The Nuffield Trust, an independent think tank, analysed both manifestos from Labour and the Conservatives.
The Trust found that the NHS would be left with lower spending increases than during the years of Tory austerity. This would leave the NHS struggling to pay existing staff costs, despite plans to increase the numbers of doctors and nurses.
According to the analysis, NHS funding would increase every year by 1.5 per cent under the Liberal Democrats, 0.9 per cent for the Conservatives, and 1.1 per cent for Labour.
The Labour Party is planning to invest £2 billion into the health service, paid for by “clamping down on tax dodgers”. Currently, the annual NHS budget for England is £165 billion.
Greens say they will push for a year-on-year reduction in waiting lists, guaranteed access to an NHS dentist, guaranteed rapid access to a GP, and a pay rise for NHS staff. They would spend an extra £8 billion in the first full year of the next parliament, rising to £28 billion in total by 2030. Part of their huge investment would be funded by a new wealth tax on assets over £10 million.
However, Smyth denied that the Greens’ manifesto was fully funded and costed. She also claimed the Green Party’s plans were similar to the Conservative mini-budget in 2022, which sparked a crisis in the bond market and led to a huge increase in interest rates and mortgage costs.’
For further information, see: https://www.bristol247.com/news-and-features/news/karin-smyth-and-carla-denyer-clash-over-nhs-funding-claims/ ‘
Labour has announced some impressive plans, but I don’t trust them not to privatise the NHS. Tony Blair was in favour of more private provision in the health service and journalists have noticed that Labour has taken the slogan ‘The NHS Is Not For Sale Off its manifesto. And Wes Streeting has received £175,000 worth of donations from private healthcare companies. And there is the fact that you cannot trust anything that comes out of Starmer’s mouth. He makes and breaks promises as easily as some people breathe.
This is why I believe that only the Greens can be trusted with the NHS.
Tags: Bond Market, Bristol 24/7, Bristol Central, Bristol South, Carla Denyer, Conservatives, doctors, Funding, GPS, Green Party, Karin Smyth, Keir Starmer, Labour Party, Liberal Democrats, Liz Truss, Mortgages, NHS, NHS Privatisation, Nuffield Trust, Nurses, Political Donations, Private Healthcare Companies, Public Services, Schools, Social Care, Tax, tony blair, Wes Streeting, ~Dentists
Beastrabban\'s Weblog 
June 17, 2024 at 5:37 pm |
Are you still planning on voting Labour, or will you switch to something more like Galloway or the Greens if they’re standing in Bristol?
June 19, 2024 at 8:15 pm |
Very good question. At the moment, unless something happens to change my mind, I intend to vote Green. Karin Smyth is, in my opinion, a good constituency MP, but I don’t trust Starmer with the health service. Not that I trust him with anything else, either. And it seems that other people feel the same. A Different Bias has a video up talking about polling date showing that Independents are doing very well indeed.