Health Foundation response to the Labour election manifesto

A bold vision but lacks critical detail on funding

Responding to the Labour manifesto, Dr Jennifer Dixon, Chief Executive of the Health Foundation, said: 

‘The Labour Party has set out a bold vision for addressing some of the most pressing issues facing the UK’s health and the future of public services but lacks detail on how its goals will be delivered and paid for.

'Labour’s plans to drive down NHS waiting times are ambitious, but achieving this will be an extremely tall order, particularly given that they appear to rely on asking already exhausted staff to work overtime. Other measures to improve early diagnosis and treatment, expand access to general practice and deliver more NHS care in communities are welcome, but the elephant in the room is how these improvements will be funded. Delivering these improvements will require significantly more investment than has been set out so far. 

‘'We welcome Labour's promise of a clearer national approach to delivering high-quality social care and vital action to improve staff pay and conditions. But there is no timetable for reform – and no recognition that these measures need to be fully funded*. The manifesto also dodges crucial questions about long overdue funding reform to protect people against the costs of care. There is little here to inspire confidence that a Labour government would bring an end to the political neglect of social care by successive governments.

‘Labour has recognised that the health and care system was not set up to go it alone by emphasising the importance of prevention. Banning smoking and restricting children’s access to harmful products, such as energy drinks, vapes, and unhealthy food are steps in the right direction. The pledge to halve the gap in healthy life expectancy between England's richest and poorest regions is also very welcome. However, making this a reality will require cross-government action on the building blocks of health and investment in public health services.

‘Labour has put growth and prosperity front and centre in its manifesto, but any thriving economy needs to be built on the foundations of a healthy population. Whilst the manifesto includes a commitment to work with local areas to support more people with ill health to get back into the workplace, more detail is needed on how the scale of this challenge will be tackled.'