Starmer to deliver scathing verdict on how Tories abandoned NHS and set out vision for reform – UK politics live
Good morning. Keir Starmer has been in power for just over two months now and for much of that time the government has focused on trying to explain to the public how bad the legacy was that the Tories left. Much of the focus has been on the economy and on prisons. Today Starmer focuses on the NHS.
And this, one might say, is the most important problem of all. According to poll by More in CommonAt the next election, whether or not Labour is successful will probably depend largely on whether NHS waiting lists have fallen.
Today the government published a 163-page report Through Mr Darzia senior surgeon and member of the House of Lords who served as Health Secretary under Gordon Brown, on the state of the NHS. Summarizing his findings in an article for the Daily MirrorDarzi says:
The state of the NHS is no accident. The health service has been hit by three major shocks. The 2010s saw the biggest funding slowdown since its creation in 1948. The next major shock was the top-down reorganisation of the NHS, which caused years of chaos. Then came the shock of the Covid pandemic, which hit the NHS harder than any comparable country – largely because of the other two shocks.
Two of the three shocks Darzi identified are Tory-related and in a speech later this morning Starmer will describe the damage to the NHS as “inexcusable”. According to the pre-speech briefing, “the Prime Minister will say that the scale of the damage to the NHS revealed by the report is ‘inexcusable’, acknowledging the tragic consequences for too many patients and their families”.
Star will say:
People have every right to be angry. It’s not just because the NHS is so personal to all of us – it’s because some of these failings are life or death.
Take waiting times in the emergency department, not only are they a source of fear and anxiety, they also lead to preventable deaths.
The loved ones of people who could have been saved. Doctors and nurses whose only calling is to save them – were prevented from doing so. It is devastating.
The report goes into great detail about what is wrong with the NHS. Today we may hear less about how the government plans to fix these problems, but Starmer will outline his approach. He will say:
This government is working rapidly on a 10-year plan. Something very different from anything that has happened before.
Rather than the top-down approach of the past, this plan will be driven by NHS staff and patients.
And as we build it together, I want to frame this plan around three big shifts – firstly, moving from an analogue to a digital NHS. A service for tomorrow, not just a service for today.
Second, we need to move more care from hospitals to communities. And third, we need to be much bolder in moving from disease to prevention.
Only fundamental reform and a long-term plan can turn the NHS around and build a healthy society. It won’t be easy or quick. But I know we can do it.
The challenge is clear: the change could be the biggest overhaul of our NHS since it was founded.
Here is Dennis Campbell And Jessica Elgotthe nightly story.
And here’s an analysis from Denis, health policy editor at The Guardian.
Below you will find the program for today.
09.30 am: NHS England publishes its performance figures monthly.
09.30 am: The Office for Budget Responsibility publishes a report on budgetary risks and sustainability, which examines the long-term risks to the economy.
10:00 am: Keir Starmer gives a speech on the NHS and answers questions from reporters.
Afternoon: Starmer flies to Washington, where he will meet President Biden at the White House tomorrow.
3:00 PM: Nick Clegg, the former deputy prime minister who is now a chief executive at Facebook, takes part in a Q&A session at Chatham House on democracy and technology.
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