Wanted: a real plan to reform the NHS

No serious party can sit out the ideological battle over the remorseless rise in public spending, including on health

Henry Hill

FOR DECADES, THE CONSERVATIVE PARTY has had a simple NHS strategy: concede every important premise, exempt it from any attempt to cut public spending and hope that’s enough to win a hearing from the public on other issues. Over one or two electoral cycles, such short-term tactics can work. The Tories briefly eked out a lead on health under David Cameron. But in the long run, they’re doomed — and for proof, look no further than last week’s Darzi Report into the state of the NHS. Not only does it highlight how the Conservatives will never be able to do enough to avoid the charge that they have starved the NHS of funding, but his proposed remedies (in a situation where even Labour has no extra cash to offer) illustrate…

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The Critic (Digital) - 1 Issue, October 2024

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