13 June 2024

Manifesto roundup

The Conservatives, Labour, Liberal Democrats and Green Party have published their manifestos. The main points regarding healthcare and the economy are as follows:

Conservatives

The Conservatives propose increasing NHS spending above inflation every year and moving care closer to people's homes through Pharmacy First, modernising GP surgeries and new community diagnostic centres. The manifesto states that the party supports widening patients' right to choose their care provider from hospital-based to community-based services. It adds that it would build 50 more community diagnostic centres and spend £3.4 billion on new technology in the NHS to improve productivity. 

On tax, the manifesto focuses on cutting employee National Insurance (NI) by 2p by April 2027, with a 'long-term ambition' to cut NI to zero and abolish the main rate of self-employed NI by the next Parliament's end. It also contains a commitment not to increase the rate of income tax or VAT. Read more.

Labour

The Labour manifesto is the only one to date to mention eye care explicitly. It states that Labour would "take the pressure off GP surgeries by improving access to services and treatment through new routes", including using opticians "to make direct referrals to specialist services or tests, as well as expanding self-referral routes where appropriate".

The manifesto sets out Labour's plan to cut NHS waiting times, with an additional 40,000 appointments every week. This is projected to cost £1 billion, funded by closing loopholes on non-dom tax and tackling tax avoidance. It also says it would cap corporation tax at 25% for the entire Parliament and reform the business rates system. Read more.  

Liberal Democrats

The Liberal Democrats have majored on the health and care aspects of their manifesto since launch, including primary care - although focusing only on GPs and dentists and moving towards a "fairer and more sustainable long-term funding model" for pharmacies. In addition, the manifesto commits to supporting every care setting by having electronic records that can feed into a patient's health record with consent. 

The party states it would cut personal tax when "public finances allow" and review off-payroll working reforms to "ensure self-employed people are treated fairly". Read more.

Green Party

The Greens commit to a "fully public, properly funded health and social care system, and to keeping profit motive well away from the NHS". It also said it would push for guaranteed access to an NHS dentist. The party calls for an additional £8 billion in funding for the NHS in the first year of a new Parliament and an additional £20 billion in capital spending over five years to build and repair hospitals.

On tax, the Green Party proposes a new wealth tax and reforms to capital gains tax and tax on investments. Read more.