Tories ‘squandered golden inheritance on NHS’, says Wes Streeting – ahead of Sir Keir Starmer’s ‘reform or die’ speech
The Tories “squandered a golden inheritance” on the NHS, the health secretary has said – as he laid out three “fundamental shifts” to fix it.
Wes Streeting told Sky News Tony Blair’s Labour government left the health service with the lowest waiting times and highest patient satisfaction “in the history of the NHS”.
“What’s criminal is that in the last 14 years, the Conservatives took that golden inheritance and squandered it. And they don’t bear any responsibility,” he said.
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Mr Streeting was speaking after an independent report he commissioned found the NHS is in a “critical condition”, with record waiting lists and too much of its budget spent in hospitals.
Off the back of the investigation, Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer will give a speech today in which he will warn the health service must “reform or die” and set out a 10-year plan to fix it.
Giving a flavour of what that could look like, Mr Streeting said the NHS needed three “fundamental” changes.
That includes a “shift from hospital to community”, so people are diagnosed earlier and faster; greater investment in technology to create a “digital NHS”; and dealing with sickness in society.
He said: “That’s why today’s report was so important, because, ironically, although it’s looking back on how we got here and diagnosing the illness, it’s actually helping us to look forward and be honest about how we got here.”
The PM will give a speech on NHS reform later today. Pic: PA
The study, carried out by peer and surgeon Lord Darzi, argues the NHS is facing rising demand for care as people live longer in ill health, coupled with low productivity in hospitals and poor staff morale.
It criticises political decision-making under the Conservatives and the coalition government, including the impact of austerity, a “starvation of investment” and the reorganisation of the NHS under the 2012 Health and Social Care Act, which Lord Darzi called “a calamity without international precedent”.
This meant the COVID pandemic came “when resilience was at an all time low”, he said.
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Mr Streeting likened the findings to the Conservatives “not just failing to fix the roof while the sun was shining, but effectively pouring petrol on the house, turning the gas on”.
“And then the pandemic lit the match,” he added.
Asked how a report of such magnitude can be compiled in nine weeks, Mr Streeting said Lord Darzi spoke to frontline staff, leaders and thinktanks and was also given “unfettered access” to NHS and Department of Health data.
In other morning interviews, he warned the NHS would “go bust” if it was not reformed, but ruled out raising money through a salt or sugar tax.
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Shadow health secretary Victoria Atkins told Sky News she had “never shied away” from the NHS’s problems during her time in office, when asked if she was embarrassed about the state her party left it in.
She accused Labour of “trying to get headlines” by trailing out the report, calling instead for a “proper conversation about what we do with the NHS”.
Shadow health secretary Victoria Atkins hit back over Labour’s report
Lord Darzi, a former Labour health minister turned independent peer, ultimately argued the NHS can be fixed, saying his findings do not question “the principles of a health service that is taxpayer-funded, free at the point of use”.
Later this morning, the prime minster will set out his plans for the “the biggest reimagining of our NHS since its birth”.
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He will say this won’t be “easy or quick” but “sticking plaster solutions” won’t do.
He will say: “Working people can’t afford to pay more, so it’s reform or die.”
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Starmer and Zelenskyy discuss ending Russia’s ‘brutal war’ – as Putin says says he is open to bilateral talks on longer ceasefire
Sir Keir Starmer and Volodymyr Zelenskyy spoke about ending Russia’s “brutal war” on Ukraine in their latest phone call on Easter Monday, as Vladimir Putin said he was open to bilateral talks.
The prime minister and Ukrainian president spoke on Monday afternoon, when Sir Keir “reiterated his iron-clad support for Ukraine“.
A Downing Street spokesperson added that the prime minister “said that the UK supports Ukraine’s calls for Russia to commit to a full ceasefire and that now is the time for Putin to show he is serious about ending his brutal war”.
“They discussed the latest developments on the Coalition of the Willing, and looked forward to further progress towards a just and lasting peace,” the spokesperson added.
Mr Zelenskyy later said on social media that he had a “good and detailed conversation” with the prime minister, and added Ukrainian officials will be in London for talks on ending the war with Russia on Wednesday.
“We are ready to move forward as constructively as possible, just as we have done before, to achieve an unconditional ceasefire, followed by the establishment of a real and lasting peace,” he added.
The Ukrainian president added that the 30-hour Easter truce, which both Kyiv and Moscow accuse the other of violating, showed that Russia “are prolonging the war”.
It comes as Mr Putin proposed bilateral talks with Ukraine on a longer ceasefire, which would mark the first time Russia held such talks since a failed peace deal soon after the invasion in 2022.
Speaking to a state TV reporter, the Russian president said: “We always have a positive attitude towards a truce, which is why we came up with such an initiative (the Easter truce), especially since we are talking about the bright Easter days.”
When asked about Mr Zelenskyy’s calls to extend the 30-hour ceasefire into a 30-day pause on civilian targets, he added: “This is all a subject for careful study, perhaps even bilaterally. We do not rule this out.”
The Ukrainian president said on Sunday evening that the Russian army had “violated Putin’s ceasefire more than 2,000 times” during the day, and accused Russia of “failing” to “uphold its own promise of a ceasefire”.
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From Saturday: Why Putin offered an Easter truce?
It also comes after Donald Trump has said he hopes Russia and Ukraine “will make a deal this week,” after he and his secretary of state Marco Rubio warned that the US will walk away from efforts to broker a peace deal unless there are clear signs of progress soon.
The US president said on his Truth Social platform that both countries would “start to do big business” with the US after ending the war.
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Last month, Ukraine accepted Mr Trump’s proposal for a 30-day truce, but Mr Putin refused to back a full 30-day ceasefire, saying crucial issues of verification had not been sorted out.
He then said he would agree not to target Ukraine’s energy infrastructure. However, both sides have accused each other of breaking the moratorium on attacks on energy targets and at sea.
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