Intended for healthcare professionals

Editorials

Cross party approach to NHS and social care

BMJ 2018; 361 doi: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.k1888 (Published 02 May 2018) Cite this as: BMJ 2018;361:k1888
  1. Chris Ham, chief executive
  1. King’s Fund, London, UK
  1. c.ham{at}kingsfund.org.uk

Party leaders should come together to find a way forward

When MPs from different parties come together to argue for more funding for the NHS and social care, it is time to sit up and take notice. Last week’s statement by Nick Boles (Conservative), Liz Kendall (Labour), and Norman Lamb (Liberal Democrat) could not have been clearer. Spending on the NHS and social care needs to increase by substantially more than inflation over the next 20 years and should be paid for by a dedicated tax.1

This initiative follows hard on the heels of a letter to the prime minister in March from 98 MPs, including 21 select committee chairs and senior backbenchers drawn from across the political spectrum. The letter made the case for establishing a parliamentary commission on health and social care to examine, among other things, future demand for care and funding options. MPs who signed the letter argued that a cross party approach to these issues was urgently needed and that the commission should …

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