Keir Starmer has come under scrutiny over how he will fund the vast reforms he is planning to secure the future of the NHS.
The Labour leader gave a news briefing in Essex where he laid out his vision for the health service, as well as specific policy proposals and pledges for what his government would do if it wins power at the next election.
The NHS formed one of the five missions Sir Keir laid out in February that will be the core of his election manifesto heading into 2024.
They are:
Secure the highest sustained growth in the G7
Build an NHS fit for the future
Make Britain’s streets safe
Break down the barriers to opportunity at every stage
Make Britain a clean energy superpower
In his speech, Sir Keir set out three goals for the NHS, including that it would be “fit for purpose” with ambulances arriving within seven minutes for cardiac arrest, that four-hour waiting targets will be met in A&E and that GPs will have the highest satisfaction rate on record under a Labour government.
The second focused on inequalities, with Sir Keir promising to “improve healthy life expectancy for all” and to halt the inequality gap between different regions of England.
And the third was centred on the “three killers”, with pledges to get heart attacks, cardiovascular disease and strokes down by a quarter in a decade and that 75% of all cancer will be diagnosed at stage one or two.
Finally, he promised to reverse current rates of suicide – the biggest cause of death in men in England under the age of 50.
Advertisement
“Suicide is the biggest killer of young lives in this country, the biggest killer,” he said. “That statistic should haunt us. And the rate is going up. Our mission must be and will be to get it down”.
Shortly after he outlined his ambitions, Sir Keir faced questions from journalists on how his NHS targets and reforms would be funded.
Asked whether whether more money would go into the NHS under his leadership, Sir Keir replied that money was “part of the solution” but added: “It’s not all about money.”
He was also asked about pay for NHS staff, to which he said there will be the “biggest increase in training” in the history of the health service, which the party would pay for by scrapping the non-dom tax status.
Sky’s political correspondent Liz Bates challenged the Labour leader on funding, suggesting that he was trying to “kick the issue into the long grass”.
Asked whether voters could trust his plans if he “wasn’t prepared to say how much they will cost”, Sir Keir replied: “Let’s just call a spade a spade – where we’ve made a proposal about the change we’re going to make, we’ve said how it’s going be funded. So this challenge you put to me that we’ve not said where the money is coming from, it’s just wrong.”
But asked to give an overall estimate for how much the plans would cost, Sir Keir did not provide a specific figure, saying only that the party had set out the costing for “specific proposals in terms” and that technology, research and development would be “the game changers that reduce costs”.
Chris Thomas, head of the Institute for Public Policy Research (IPPR) commission on health and prosperity, welcomed the plans but said investment would be crucial.
“The NHS was created at a time when conditions like tuberculosis remained among the biggest killers. But today’s challenges are different. A shift to more preventative care – and more care in the community – is long overdue.
“Labour is right in its ambition to create a 21st century plan for a 21st century NHS. But there also needs to be a plan for investment alongside these bold reforms to help make such an aspirational target believable.
“Investing in the things that drive healthier lives, like good housing, a healthy diet and lower smoking rates will be critical for delivering healthier people and a healthier economy.”
But Minister of State for Health and Social Care, Will Quince, accused Sir Keir of shouting “from the sidelines”.
“The truth is Labour in Wales are currently missing all the targets Sir Keir Starmer has just set out for England.
“Labour have been running the health service in Wales for 25 years and haven’t met these targets. Sir Keir has a record of changing his mind – we can’t trust these will be Labour’s targets next week let alone in five years’ time.
“This Conservative government has already reduced 18 month waits by 91% from their peak,and two-year waits are virtually eliminated. We are delivering on our priorities to cut waiting lists and to improve the lives of everyone across the country.”
Donald Trump and Marjorie Taylor Greene were a formidable alliance on the Republican Party’s hard-right flank.
For years, the congresswoman for Georgia embodied the combative, conspiracy-tinged politics that define Trump’s presidency.
She called him “the father of the America First movement,” campaigned to be his running mate, and was quick to defend him.
“David Cameron can kiss my ass,” she told Sky News when asked about the former UK Prime Minister’s concerns about US fading support for Ukraine.
Door-stepped by my colleague Martha Kelner, she said: “We don’t give a crap about your country or your reporting.
“The Trump administration is doing a great job and I stand by their statements,” she added.
More from World
“I’m thankful to President Trump that he is leading us out of wars.”
Watch Sky’s Martha Kelner’s encounter with Taylor Greene from earlier this year…
YouTube
This content is provided by YouTube, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable YouTube cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to YouTube cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow YouTube cookies for this session only.
But in recent months, she had expressed concerns about Trump’s involvement in the Middle East, Ukraine and elsewhere.
It escalated when she stood with victims of sex offender Jeffrey Epstein to demand justice and joined Democrats in demanding a vote on the release of all files.
Just days ago, President Trump told reporters Taylor Greene had “lost her way”, but something triggered a war of words late on Friday.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
1:35
‘Shame on everyone that protected Epstein’
The president had taken questions on Air Force One, with two reporters citing Taylor Green’s demand that the files be released.
Moments later, President Trump posted on Truth Social that he was withdrawing his endorsement of the congresswoman.
He branded her a “ranting lunatic”, “wacky Marjorie”, and said all she ever does is “COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN.”
Her reply came very quickly, in a post claiming she had sent the president text messages about Jeffrey Epstein.
“Apparently this is what sent him over the edge. The Epstein Files,” she posted.
At least nine people have been killed and 32 injured after a cache of confiscated explosives detonated inside a police station in Indian-administered Kashmir.
The accidental blast occurred late on Friday in the Nowgam area of Srinagar, as forensic and police personnel were evaluating the explosive material, according to police director-general Nalin Prabhat.
Most of the dead were officers and forensic staff, police said, adding that several of the injured remained in a critical condition.
The massive explosion tore through the police station, setting the building and several vehicles on fire.
“The intensity of the blast was such that some body parts were recovered from nearby houses, around 100-200m away from the police station,” a police source said.
A series of smaller successive blasts slowed rescue operations.
Image: A police official lays flowers on a coffin at a ceremony for the victims. Pic: Reuters
The police station blast comes just days after a deadly car explosion in New Delhi on Monday, which killed at least eight people near the city’s historic Red Fort.
The car explosion occurred hours after police in Kashmir said they had dismantled a suspected militant cell operating from the region, arresting at least seven people, including two doctors from Indian cities.
Police also seized a large quantity of bomb-making material in Faridabad, near New Delhi.
Indian security forces have conducted multiple raids across Kashmir during their investigation, questioning hundreds and detaining dozens.
Image: Relatives protest following the blast. Pic: Reuters
Authorities said DNA testing identified the car’s driver as a Kashmiri doctor, and government forces demolished his family home in Pulwama district on Thursday night.
In the past, security forces have demolished the homes of individuals they allege were linked to militants opposing Indian rule in Kashmir as a form of punishment.
India and Pakistan both claim all of Kashmir, though each controls only part of the territory.
Militants in the Indian-administered region have been fighting against New Delhi since 1989, with India labeling it Pakistan-backed terrorism.
Pakistan denies the claim, saying that many Kashmiris view it as a legitimate struggle for independence.
Donald Trump has withdrawn support for Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene – which she claims is over her support for releasing files about Jeffrey Epstein.
In comments made on Truth Social, Mr Trump said he would support any challenger who wants to take Ms Greene’s seat in Georgia.
It comes after weeks of the MAGA ally breaking ranks from the president – and according to a post on X after his withdrawal, she believes it’s over a possible vote on releasing all of the Epstein files.
After the US government shutdown ended, a petition to vote on the full release of the files about disgraced pedophile financier Epstein received enough signatures – including Ms Greene’s – to bring it to a vote in the House of Representatives.
While such a vote does not yet have a date, Mr Trump has called the files a “hoax” and accused the Democrats of using them “to try and deflect from their disastrous SHUTDOWN”.
Earlier this week, thousands of documents from Epstein were released, which reference Mr Trump, Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor and Peter Mandelson, among others.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
13:31
The new Epstein files: The key takeaways
Trump attacks ‘Wacky’ Majorie
In his post on Truth Social overnight, Mr Trump said: “all I see “Wacky” Marjorie do is COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN, COMPLAIN!
“It seemed to all begin when I sent her a Poll stating that she should not run for Senator, or Governor, she was at 12%, and didn’t have a chance (unless, of course, she had my Endorsement – which she wasn’t about to get!).”
The president went on to claim “she has told many people that she is upset that I don’t return her phone calls anymore”, before adding: “I can’t take a ranting Lunatic’s call every day.
“I understand that wonderful, Conservative people are thinking about primarying Marjorie in her District of Georgia, that they too are fed up with her and her antics and, if the right person runs, they will have my Complete and Unyielding Support.”
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
16:23
Will new Epstein emails hurt Trump?
Greene: Trump’s fight to stop files ‘astonishing’
Around an hour later, Ms Greene responded on X to say “President Trump just attacked me and lied about me”, and shared text messages to him and a White House aide about releasing information on the deceased pedophile financier Jeffrey Epstein.
“Of course he’s coming after me hard to make an example to scare all the other Republicans before next weeks vote to release the Epstein files,” she added on social media.
“It’s astonishing really how hard he’s fighting to stop the Epstein files from coming out that he actually goes to this level.”
Image: Marjorie Taylor Greene was an ardent supporter of MAGA and became a Republican Congresswoman in 2021. File pic: AP
She then said “most Americans wish he would fight this hard to help the forgotten men and women of America… that’s what I voted for”.
“I have supported President Trump with too much of my precious time, too much of my own money, and fought harder for him even when almost all other Republicans turned their back and denounced him,” she added.
“But I don’t worship or serve Donald Trump… I remain the same today as I’ve always been and I will continue to pray this administration will be successful because the American people desperately deserve what they voted for.”
Watch Sky’s Martha Kelner’s encounter with Greene from earlier this year…
YouTube
This content is provided by YouTube, which may be using cookies and other technologies.
To show you this content, we need your permission to use cookies.
You can use the buttons below to amend your preferences to enable YouTube cookies or to allow those cookies just once.
You can change your settings at any time via the Privacy Options.
Unfortunately we have been unable to verify if you have consented to YouTube cookies.
To view this content you can use the button below to allow YouTube cookies for this session only.
Earlier this week, Mr Trump accused the MAGA loyalist of “catering to the other side” after she criticised his focus on foreign policy, which she described as “America Last”.
Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player
3:55
Trump rebukes MAGA ally over foreign policy
Epstein took his own life in prison in 2019 while awaiting a trial for sex trafficking charges and was accused of running a “vast network” of underage girls for sex. He pleaded not guilty.
Following a conviction for soliciting prostitution from a minor in 2008, he was registered as a sex offender.
It comes after Democrats on the House Oversight Committee published several emails, which they said “raises questions about Trump and Epstein’s relationship, Trump’s knowledge of Epstein’s crimes”, and the president’s relationship to Epstein’s victims.
Mr Trump has consistently denied knowledge of Epstein’s crimes and called claims linking him to the financier a “hoax”.