Published 1 June 2009, doi:10.1136/bmj.b2198
Cite this as: BMJ 2009;338:b2198

Editorials

The Conservative Party’s policies on health

Markets not targets will be used to improve performance

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

With the United Kingdom general election less than a year away and opinion polls showing the Conservative Party well ahead of the Labour Party, there is increasing interest in the opposition’s health policies and their implications for the NHS.

The broad direction of the Conservatives’ thinking has been set out in a series of policy documents published in the period since David Cameron’s election as leader of the party in 2005.¹ At the heart of this thinking is continuing support for a universal, comprehensive, tax funded NHS, alongside plans that are both different from and similar to those pursued by the Labour government.

One of the principal differences concerns the Conservatives’ commitment to distancing politicians from the day to day running of the NHS. This aim will be achieved through the establishment of an independent board made up of the NHS chief executive, his senior colleagues, and lay people serving . . . [Full text of this article]

¹ Policy and Management, Health Services Management Centre, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2RT

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