Labour pledges to outspend Conservatives on health with £26bn NHS “rescue plan”

A Labour government will increase health spending by an average of 4.3% a year over the next four years as part of a “rescue plan” for the NHS, the party has pledged.

Announcing the plans in a speech at the Royal Society of Medicine on 13 November, Labour shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth and shadow chancellor John McDonnell said the party would increase NHS spending by £26bn (€30.4bn; $33.4bn) in real terms between now and 2023-24 if elected next month, outspending the Conservatives existing commitments by over £6bn.

Labour’s settlement would increase the Department of Health and Social Care budget by an average of 4.3% a year (to £178bn by 2023-24), funded through increased income tax rates for the highest earners. NHS England’s revenue budget—which comes out of the overall department …