Greens call for extra £50bn to 'nurse NHS to health'
- Published
The Green Party has called on the next government to invest an extra £50bn a year to rescue an NHS at "breaking point", financed by taxes on the top 1% of earners.
The party, which is targeting winning four MPs for the first time, said a massive cash injection was needed to boost NHS salaries and improve social care.
The Greens pledged new laws to "fight privatisation" in the NHS, claiming outsourced contracts siphon off £1bn from the health service.
"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," Green Party Co-Leader Adrian Ramsay said.
He added: "Our NHS is at breaking point following 14 years of underfunding.
"With more Greens in the next Parliament we will press the new government to take the action needed to restore our NHS."
The Greens plan to field candidates in every constituency in England and Wales for the 4 July election, but the party will focus their efforts on four seats they see as winnable hoping the MPs will "press the new government to take the action need restore our NHS".
The Green Party has confirmed four candidates had stood down after it launched an investigation into reports of antisemitic or extreme comments.
The Scottish Greens are a separate party, who will field candidates in Scotland.
'Mainstream' funding
Healthcare is devolved to the national parliaments in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
England's health budget for this year stands at £179.6bn - most of this is going on the NHS but it also includes money for public health, social care and training.
The Green Party has proposed increasing funding for the English NHS by a £30bn annual package by 2030.
The money would be used to raise NHS frontline workers' salaries, ensure rapid GP access, provide same-day urgent care, and guarantee everyone an NHS dentist.
The Greens proposed £20bn more per year for social care to "ensure dignity for those in need of care and take pressure off the NHS".
Mr Ramsay stated this would match healthcare funding levels with "countries like France and Germany".
"These are actually very mainstream proposals, but we live at a time where our government has eroded the NHS over a long period of time," he said.
Alongside increased healthcare spending, the Greens have proposed a one-off £20bn capital investment fund to modernise hospital infrastructure and equipment.
Extra healthcare funding would be paid for through tax reforms targeting the UK's wealthiest people, detailed in their manifesto next week, the Greens said.
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The party has previously announced tax proposals it argues would raise £50bn a year.
This includes a new Wealth Tax charged at 1% on all assets worth more than £10m declared in a self-assessment tax return, increasing to 2% on all assets above £1bn.
The party has also set out plans to bring Capital Gains Tax (CGT) in line with income tax bands, and reform National Insurance contributions.
The Greens have proposed new legislation to abolish competition within the NHS and limit commercial companies' roles.
The Conservatives pledged an extra £6.6bn for the NHS and £7.5bn for adult social care over three years, raising total health spending to £192bn annually.
The government have a long-term target to build 40 hospitals by 2030, which it is expected to miss. But it has set aside £3.7bn to fund the programme and open up to 160 new Community Diagnostic Centres by the end of next year.
Labour have proposed improving NHS overtime pay, to fund staff to work evenings and weekends to help treat the 7.5 million currently on a waiting list, funded by closing tax loopholes.
They have also committed to recruiting 8,500 additional mental health staff.
The Green party have been campaigning to rapidly accelerate the rollout of renewable energy, focusing on wind and solar power - as well as increasing recycling and reducing plastic waste.
But on Wednesday the green industrialist and former party donor Dale Vince said: "It would be a mistake to vote Green, Labour is the only one of the two parties that can form a government that would be green in nature."
Mr Vince made the comments as he announced he was increasing his funding of Labour to £5m.
Responding to Mr Vince, Mr Ramsay said Labour's environmental proposals "don't go anywhere near far enough".
"Keir Starmer has backtracked on his proposals on climate funding and he's not put anything significant forward for funding for the NHS," Mr Ramsay argued.
"The Green Party is willing to be honest about the changes that are needed."