Nurse pay boost among Green Party’s health and care pledges
The Green Party has pledged to increase the salaries of nurses and fix the UK’s crumbling hospitals with massive increases to NHS funding if it wins next month’s general election.
Ahead of the launch of its general election manifesto on 12 June, the party said today (6 June) that it would secure an additional £50bn in funding for health and social care by 2030.
“Our NHS is at breaking point following 14 years of underfunding”
Adrian Ramsay
Of this additional funding, £30bn would be for the NHS and the other £20bn for social care.
A total of £5bn of this money, the party said, would be used to increase the salaries of “NHS frontline workers”, including nurses, dentists and doctors, including an uplift to the 2023-24 pay award.
Crucially, the party’s plans included legislation to tie NHS pay to inflation.
As well as this, the money would improve funding for day-to-day services, reduce GP waiting times including a same-day appointment guarantee in the case of urgent need and widen access to NHS dentistry.
The party also said it would restore public health budgets to 2015-16 levels, and immediately increase that budget by £1.5bn.
The Green Party’s £20bn per year social care package would fund pay increases for staff and improve the “career structure” for the care workforce, the party said, as well as free personal care for the population.
Children’s social care would receive an additional £3bn, under the party’s plans, provided directly to local authorities.
Further plans from the Green Party included reforms to the Health and Care Visa, improvements to disability benefits and support, and commitment to an existing goal to eradicate new HIV cases by 2030.
Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay described the plans as “credible, deliverable and fully-funded”.
Mr Ramsay said: “Our NHS is at breaking point following 14 years of underfunding. Patients are stuck in hospital corridors, people can’t see their GP or NHS dentist when they need to and staff are severely overstretched.
“Greens believe passionately in the NHS and we are the only party to be honest with the public that it’s going to cost money to nurse the NHS back to health after 14 years of Conservative damage.
“Not just by shifting a small pot around, but by asking the very richest in our society to pay a modest amount more in tax to fund the investment we need to nurse the NHS back to health.”
The party also pledged £20bn in capital investment to “bring crumbling hospitals and outdated equipment up to modern standards” and a “cast-iron guarantee” to fight the privatisation of the NHS.
To fund these pledges, the party said it would increase taxes on the “super wealthy”.
Deputy leader Zack Polanski told Sky News this morning that this would involve a 1% tax on assets over £10m, a 2% tax on assets over £1bn and bringing capital gains tax in line with income tax.
“At the moment we’re taxing unearned income less than we’re taxing earned income, and that seems unfair,” he said.
Mr Polanski said these measures would raise £40-60bn per year.
He added: “There is a group of patriotic millionaires who are saying, ‘please tax us more, because our country and society is better when it’s an equal society’.
“This is about making sure people who need dignity and care at their most times of need are provided for by the state by asking for a bit of redistribution from those who have done very, very well during the pandemic.”
Dr Pallavi Devulapalli, GP and Green Party health, social care and public health spokesperson, said the current state of waiting times in primary care “breaks my heart”.
“But it doesn’t have to be like this,” said Dr Devulapalli.
“With the political will we can have an NHS that puts the patient first and ensures world beating quality of care.
“But for this to happen we need the investment and that’s why I am so proud of the Green Party for being honest and brave enough to say not just what needs to happen, but how we can afford to make it happen.”
