Only Lib Dems will fully fund the NHS and Social Care in Stockton
Only Lib Dems will fully fund the NHS and Social Care in Stockton
Lib Dems penny for NHS would raise £28m extra for Stockton-on-Tees
The Liberal Democrats have announced they would plug funding gaps for the NHS and social care by putting a penny on income tax, in their first major manifesto commitment of the election campaign.
The tax would raise an additional £28m for the Stockton area, with £22m for the NHS Hartlepool and Stockton CCG and £6.8m for social care in Stockton each year.
This is the party's flagship spending commitment and its first major policy announcement for the election. The Liberal Democrats manifesto will also set out a 'five-point recovery plan' for NHS and social care services in their manifesto.
At least 70% of Brits would happily pay an extra 1p in every pound if that money was guaranteed to go to the NHS, an ITV poll found last October (link).
Drew Durning, Parliamentary Candidate for Stockton South said:
"Medical staff in North Tees Hospital are seriously over-stretched with urgent operations being cancelled. Meanwhile the elderly are being denied the social care they need.
"The Liberal Democrats are prepared to be honest with people and say that to secure the future of the NHS we will all need to chip in a little more.
"A penny in the pound would allow us to invest in improving local NHS services and ensuring the elderly receive the care they deserve.
"This Conservative government has left our health and care services chronically underfunded - and while the crisis gets worse they just don't seem to care.
Sarah Brown, Parliamentary Candidate for Stockton North said:
"The Conservatives are promising additional staffing for mental health services while offering no new money. We cannot continue asking the system to deliver more and more, without giving it the resources to do so.
"Meanwhile, Labour has no idea how to fund NHS and social care."
Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson and former health minister Norman Lamb said:
"The NHS was once the envy of the world and this pledge is the first step in restoring it to where it should be.
"A penny in the pound to save the NHS is money well spent in our view.
"But simply providing more money on its own is not enough and that's why this is just the first step in our plan to protect health and care services in the long-term.".
"The Liberal Democrats are the real opposition to the Conservative Brexit Government and the only party fighting for a Britain that is open, tolerant and united."
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