What happened this week in the UK election campaign, from more betting slips to the last debate
Associated PressJun 25
The Facts
Overview: The National Health Service (NHS), established in July 1948, offers free at the point of use medical care. Post-devolution, UK state-funded health care is divided by region into NHS England, NHS Wales, NHS Scotland, and the Health and Social Care Services in Northern Ireland. NHS England employs approximately 1.5M individuals, not including nearly 150K full-time equivalent staff in general practice, and over 24K dentists. According to the latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) data, total UK expenditure on health care in 2023 was approximately £292B ($372B), representing 10.9% of GDP. Health care spending grew 5.6% nominally but decreased by 1.4% after inflation adjustment from the year prior.
Current state: In April 2024, 74.4% of patients were admitted, transferred or discharged within four hours of arriving at A&E, down from 82.8% pre-pandemic, 93.4% in June 2015, and 97.2% in August 2010. As of March 2023, there were roughly 7.5M waits for procedures and appointments in the UK, with 6.3M waiting for care in England. In comparison, the waiting list was 4.6M pre-pandemic, 3.4M in June 2015, and 2.7M in August 2010. Ambulance services currently handle 24.4K emergency calls daily, with an average response time of 30 min 22 sec.
The Spin
Tory narrative
Labour will inevitably use the NHS as a platform to attack the Tories, but this won't solve the system's underlying rot. The government has only ever increased health expenditure during their tenure, and the impact of COVID was destined to cripple the service irrespective of party politics. Labour's policies are broad, vague, and don't even begin to solve the NHS's issues — Starmer isn't the man to fix this crisis.
Labour narrative
Starmer's plan to tackle the NHS backlog provides hope that the health system can once again function effectively if given the right attention. Once the pride of the nation, the service has been crippled under Tory governance. Labour has a track record of looking after the NHS, and Starmer is determined to make sure his party will be no different when in government.
Reform narrative
Hysteria over privatization of the NHS has long held the UK's health sector hostage. Decades of fear-mongering mean that reasonable solutions that have been adopted successfully by a multitude of developed countries have been rejected in favor of ideology and tribalism. Whether Labour or the Conservatives win the election, an immediate and radical conversation must be had over increasing NHS private sector capacity.
Progressive narrative
Neither the Tories nor Labour can be trusted to ensure workers who dedicate their lives to public health services are paid fairly for their vital contributions. With both major parties publicly opposed to NHS strikes, it is more important than ever that the entire public workforce comes together and compels the political elite to recognize the immense value that they bring to the country.