Keir Starmer delivered a critical speech in London today (12 September) on the ‘dire’ state of the NHS left by the last Conservative government.
The speech followed Lord Darzi’s report concluding that the NHS was in a ‘critical condition’. Starmer echoed the message, saying the health service must ‘reform or die’. He emphasised that there will be ‘no more money without reform,’ indicating a major overhaul was necessary to save the NHS.
Despite this, Starmer was still optimistic about its future – describing it as ‘broken but not beaten’. He outlined Labour’s vision for its future, promising the ‘biggest reimagining of the NHS since its birth’. However, he made it clear that this would require significant reform, driven by three key priorities: upgrading technology, shifting care from hospitals to communities, and focusing more on prevention.
He claimed the NHS ‘lost’ a decade under the Conservatives, who had “broken” it. He likened the previous government’s neglect of the health service to ‘pouring petrol on the house, turning the gas on.’
Starmer also confronted fears over the backlash that some of the Labour Party’s health policy proposals will inevitably attract. He accepted that such a plan to outlaw smoking in some open spaces – including pub gardens and restaurants – would undoubtedly be contentious. Those plans, leaked to The Sun, had already raised opposition, but Starmer said such preventive health measures were crucial to saving the NHS and to improving the nation’s wellbeing.
With the political debate about the NHS set to continue, there is increasing pressure to make sure that the Conservatives present a similarly robust counter-narrative. Sunak and any future Tory leaders will have to walk the tightrope of defending the record of their party on the NHS while setting out the vision for the future of healthcare.
Labour’s plans for NHS reform will get clearer next spring when the government publishes its 10-year plan. Funding those reforms is another question for the prime minister.
Health secretary Wes Streeting commented on Lord Darzi’s NHS report earlier saying, “The review shines a light on some hard truths about where the NHS currently is. We know that children are sicker today compared to ten years ago, and adults are falling ill earlier in life. He said the NHS was ‘15 years behind the private sector on technology’ and pointed to outdated infrastructure, with mental health patients still being treated in Victorian-era buildings.
Lib Dem health spokeswoman Daisy Cooper told the Commons, “Today’s report is a scathing summary of the complete devastation that the Conservatives have wrought on our health services and the health of our communities.”
Former leader of the Labour Party, Jeremy Corbyn, has urged the government to stop ‘outsourcing’ the health service’s work saying: “Since 2012, the NHS has lost £10 million every week to private healthcare profits. If the government really wanted to save money, it would stop wasting billions of pounds on private contracts.”
