London24NEWS

‘String of woeful Conservative prime ministers has left NHS on its knees’

PMs have failed NHS

David Cameron once claimed the ­Conservatives were the party of the NHS.

Theresa May said she loved the NHS. Boris Johnson promised to build 40 new hospitals. Rishi Sunak says the NHS is in his DNA. It is time these Tory Prime ­Ministers were held to account for their hollow and deceitful words. After 14 years of Conservative rule the health service is on its knees.

They have failed to provide the investment needed, failed to resolve industrial disputes with nurses and junior doctors and failed to ensure patients receive the care they need.

A party which genuinely cared about the NHS would not have left more than seven million people in England on the waiting list or cut the budget for public health or driven demoralised and underpaid nurses to leave.

The underfunding and ­mismanagement can be seen in Stepping Hill Hospital, where critical care units were flooded after a ceiling collapse. Across the country hospitals struggle with crumbling buildings, infestations and ­antiquated ­equipment due to Tory cuts. The past 14 years have proved the Conservatives can’t be trusted with the NHS.

OAP shame

In a civilised country no pensioner should have to worry about whether they can afford to eat or heat their homes. Yet this is the reality for many elderly in Tory Britain. Official statistics show nearly two million pensioners are living in poverty.

This figure is forecast to rise as the government has withdrawn support to help with the cost-of-living crisis. That will mean more people having to cut back on essentials. Everyone should have the right to a secure and dignified retirement. Too many now face anxiety and uncertainty.

Just one hitch

Young people have voted the 1980s the coolest decade of all time. They like the music, the films and the video games but they might change their minds if they found out who ran Britain at the time.