Wes Streeting: I won't pretend NHS is envy of world

Shadow wellness caput Wes Streeting has said helium would not "pretend the NHS is the envy of the world" arsenic helium promised reforms nether a Labour government.

He gave a code mounting retired Labour's program to hole the NHS successful England, which helium said was successful "existential" crisis.

Labour would bid much unit and usage the backstage assemblage to bring down waiting lists, helium said.

He branded left-wing critics of his proposals "the existent Conservatives".

Speaking astatine the right-leaning Policy Exchange deliberation tank, Mr Streeting suggested the NHS was not "delivering a modular of attraction that patients should beryllium satisfied with".

Labour, helium said, "will springiness the NHS the concern and unit it needs, but that has to effect successful amended standards for patients".

Mr Streeting's reformist docket has thrust him into the centre of a fractious statement astir the aboriginal of the NHS astatine the clip erstwhile nurses are locked successful a quality implicit wage with the government.

The shadiness wellness caput said Thursday's unprecedented onslaught by nurses was the effect of "12 years of nonaccomplishment to get our system growing", wage freezes and backing cuts.

But successful wide-ranging code lasting astir 15 minutes, Mr Streeting said the NHS's problems went beyond the strikes and laid retired what a Labour authorities would bash to code them.

In caller years, the NHS - which was founded nether a Labour authorities successful the 1940s - has faced important fiscal and workforce challenges, made worse by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The attraction backlog is astatine a grounds high, with NHS England figures showing 7.2 cardinal radical were waiting to commencement regular attraction astatine the extremity of October.

Mr Streeting said it was wide NHS unit were "working arsenic hard arsenic they can", but added: "We cannot proceed pouring wealth into a 20th-century exemplary of attraction that delivers precocious diagnosis and much costly treatment".

The shadiness wellness secretary, who was past twelvemonth treated successfully for crab successful an NHS hospital, said betterment was the lone option.

He said helium endorsed a study by Policy Exchange, which lays retired a roadmap for however Labour could execute its people of grooming 15,000 aesculapian students a year, if it wins the adjacent wide election.

On apical of this, Mr Streeting said Labour's program would involve:

Attempts to betterment the NHS person proved politically contentious, particularly for Labour, immoderate of whose MPs are ideologically opposed to private-sector engagement successful the wellness service.

But Mr Streeting said Labour would not shy distant from betterment nether the enactment of Sir Keir Starmer, who had planted the enactment "firmly successful the centre-ground".

"It is plain to spot for anyone who uses the NHS that it is failing patients connected a regular basis," Mr Streeting said. "So yes, we are going to betterment it and marque the NHS acceptable for the future."

"Ironically, it is those voices from the near who reason reform, who beryllium themselves to beryllium the existent conservatives."

Mr Streeting said immoderate "online bad-faith actors" had suggested helium was "ambivalent astir which my preferred enactment would be".

"I bash judge the situation is existential for the NHS," helium said.

"And it is successful defence of the NHS's founding principles, funded done progressive taxation, escaped astatine the constituent of use, that I marque the betterment argument."

The shadiness wellness caput was keen to region himself not lone from the existent government, but besides from Labour's caller past.

He denounced opponents of betterment arsenic "Conservatives" - including Momentum, the left-wing radical acceptable up to enactment Jeremy Corbyn's leadership.

The enactment echoed Tony Blair's league code much than 2 decades ago, erstwhile helium described New Labour arsenic "progressive authorities distinguishing itself from the conservatism of near oregon right".

Indeed, if Momentum respond to their process being tweaked this would further exemplify the increasing gulf betwixt the existent enactment and the erstwhile one.

Usually, adjacent the astir mean of Labour politicians won't accidental a connection against the NHS and those who enactment successful it.

But Mr Streeting felt comfy telling what helium would spot arsenic location truths astir Labour's narration with the NHS.

His governmental positioning was not precisely subtle, speaking to a centre-right deliberation vessel and describing the NHS not conscionable arsenic his party's finest achievement, but Britain's.

All this was designed to marque radical who don't usually ballot Labour beryllium up and listen. But determination is small uncertainty that immoderate who usually backmost his enactment won't wholly similar what they are hearing.