Autumn Statement: ‘Deafening silence’ on NHS won’t fix flatlining economy

22 November 2023

Wera Hobhouse, Liberal Democrat MP for Bath, has slammed this Conservative Government’s ‘deafening silence’ as Autumn Statement fails to fund NHS rescue package.

The Liberal Democrats have been warning that unless this Government prioritises getting people off waiting lists and back into work, economic growth will continue to flatline.

This follows a recent poll commissioned by the Liberal Democrats that showed one in seven people had taken a significant length of time off work whilst waiting for treatment on the NHS (see note 1 below).

Before the Autumn Statement, the party had been calling for the Chancellor to invest in a robust NHS rescue plan to tackle the ever-growing treatment backlogs which are damaging the economy and impacting people’s quality of life.

These measures would have included reversing Conservative cuts to vital public health services in Bath and delivering 8,000 more GPs across the country to create 65 million more appointments every year.

Instead, this Conservative government almost completely ignored health in today’s [Wednesday 22nd November] Autumn Statement and proposed a series of tax cuts that will not ‘ease the pain’ after years of significant tax hikes.

Wera Hobhouse, Liberal Democrat MP for Bath, said:

“This Conservative Government’s deafening silence on the NHS is a damning indictment of how little they care about people’s health or our stagnant economy.

“Thousands of people across the country and here in Bath are in agony, stuck on waiting lists that are preventing them from working and impacting their quality of life.

“Investing in the NHS and reducing treatment backlogs should have been a priority in this Autumn Statement. Without a significant boost to health services, our economy will stay frozen.

“Today has just been more stale nonsense from a Conservative Government out of touch and out of ideas. People in Bath deserve better.

Emergency funding boost

Liberal Democrats are calling for an emergency funding boost for the NHS and social care including:

  • Delivering 8,000 more GPs to create 65 million more appointments every year.

  • Urgently reforming NHS dentistry to end dental deserts and DIY dentistry.

  • Giving the NHS 200 new radiotherapy machines and training 3,400 extra cancer nurses.

  • Preparing for urgent pressures this winter to avoid a new crisis, with an immediate boost to NHS staffed hospital bed capacity and ambulance services.

  • Tackling the black hole in adult and children’s social care services, and giving care workers a proper pay rise.

  • Reversing Conservative cuts to vital public health services in local communities, such as children's health services and drug and alcohol services.

  • Proper mental health support, by rolling out community walk-in centres for children and young people and providing every school with a qualified mental health practitioner.

Notes

  1. Savanta interviewed 2,235 UK adults aged 18+ online between 10th and 13th November 2023. Data were weighted to be representative of the UK by age, sex, region and social grade [more...].