Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Labour promises to clear NHS waiting list backlog

The total waiting list includes about 6.3 million people

Labour promises to clear NHS waiting list backlog

LABOUR has pledged to eliminate the NHS waiting list backlog in England within five years, with shadow health secretary cautioning that the health service risks becoming “a poor service for poor people” while wealthier individuals turn to private care.

Wes Streeting told the Guardian that if the Tories remain in power, the total waiting list in England could reach 10 million cases, degrading healthcare to the level of NHS dental services.


In one of Labour’s most significant and ambitious electoral promises, Streeting and party leader Keir Starmer will use a campaign stop in the West Midlands to pledge that the backlog of approximately 3.2 million people in England now waiting more than 18 weeks for NHS treatment will be cleared within five years.

Previously, Labour outlined plans to create 40,000 additional appointments per week through extended weekend and evening services, along with measures like expanding staff and utilising private sector capacity.

However, this is the first time Labour has made such a specific commitment on waiting lists.

Streeting acknowledged the immense responsibility to meet this target. Having been treated by the NHS for kidney cancer, he described it as his “driving purpose” to accomplish this goal.

“I feel this enormous weight of responsibility on our shoulders,” he was quoted as saying. “The challenge today is far greater than it was in 1997. As someone whose life was saved by the NHS when I had kidney cancer, and whose family has regularly relied on the NHS, if there’s only one thing I do with a life saved by the NHS, it’s dedicating myself to saving the NHS that saved me. That’s my driving purpose. I truly hope people give us the chance to do it.”

While a £1.3bn annual funding increase, partly financed by abolishing the non-dom tax status, will support some of the faster patient turnaround, much of the plan depends on modernisation and efficiency.

Streeting has had disagreements with professional organizations such as the British Medical Association, the doctors’ union, but he noted a willingness within the NHS to embrace change.

“I’m speaking from a practice in Yorkshire where GP partners prioritise the family-doctor relationship and offer additional services like singing classes for respiratory issues and dementia clinics,” he said.

“There are brilliant people on the front lines who are not resistant to change. They are desperate for a government that works with them instead of undermining them. So I see it as reforming the NHS alongside its staff, making it fit for the future.”

NHS waiting lists in England are measured by various metrics, depending on the waiting period. The latest figures show that among the 3.2 million people waiting more than 18 weeks, over 300,000 have been on the list for a year or more.

The total waiting list includes about 6.3 million individuals, just over 7.5 million cases.

Healthcare analysts welcomed Labour’s plan but cautioned that the proposals might not lead to a “rapid or sudden improvement” in waiting times, potentially diverting attention from other urgent health issues.

“Clearing the backlog within five years would require significant effort and focus, possibly slowing down other health and care goals,” said Sarah Woolnough, CEO of the King’s Fund. “Achieving this goal would almost certainly need a quick resolution to ongoing industrial actions.”

Woolnough added that offering evening and weekend appointments is a good strategy but warned about high levels of stress and burnout among NHS staff.

Thea Stein, CEO of the Nuffield Trust, supported Labour’s focus on waiting lists.

She expressed agreement on the necessity to invest more in equipment, noting that it has historically been affected by short-termism. However, she pointed out that the proposed funds would only cover a limited amount of additional care, which would not be enough for a rapid or sudden improvement.

More For You

Ashvir Singh Johal

Ashvir Singh Johal

Ashvir Singh Johal becomes first Sikh manager in British pro football

ASHVIR SINGH JOHAL has been named manager of Morecambe, becoming the first Sikh to take charge of a professional football club in Britain.

At 30, Johal is also now the youngest manager in England’s top five divisions. He takes over following the club’s recent takeover by the Panjab Warriors consortium and the departure of former boss Derek Adams.

Keep ReadingShow less
Modi and Xi Jinping
Narendra Modi and Xi Jinping during their meeting in October 2024.

Modi’s China visit to focus on reviving India–China relations, border peace

India’s prime minister Narendra Modi will visit China later in August, his security chief said on Tuesday (19), during talks with Beijing's foreign minister in New Delhi.

Modi will attend the Shanghai Cooperation Organization summit opening on August 31 in Tianjin, his first visit to China since 2018, Ajit Doval said, in public comments at the start of a meeting with Beijing's foreign minister Wang Yi.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sally Rooney

She criticised the UK government for what she described as eroding citizens’ rights and freedoms

Getty Images

Sally Rooney says UK terror listing won’t stop her support for Palestine Action

Highlights:

  • Author Sally Rooney says she will continue to back Palestine Action, despite the group being proscribed as a terrorist organisation in the UK.
  • Writing in the Irish Times, she pledged to use her book earnings and public platform to support the group’s activities.
  • The Home Secretary Yvette Cooper has defended the ban, citing security risks and evidence of violent action.
  • Palestine Action has targeted UK arms companies and was linked to an incident at RAF Brize Norton, causing £7m worth of damage.

Sally Rooney reaffirms support

Irish novelist Sally Rooney has said she will continue to support the pro-Palestinian direct action group Palestine Action, even after its proscription as a terrorist organisation in the UK.

In an article published in the Irish Times, the award-winning writer of Normal People and Intermezzo said she would keep using the proceeds of her work — including residuals from the BBC adaptations of Normal People and Conversations with Friends — to fund the group.

Keep ReadingShow less
Newcastle marks India’s 79th Independence Day

Senior civic leaders, academics, and business figures attended this landmark event

AMG

Newcastle marks India’s 79th Independence Day with first official Consulate-led event

Highlights:

  • First-ever official Indian Independence Day celebration hosted by the Consulate in Newcastle upon Tyne.
  • JM Meenu Malhotra DL, Honorary Consul General of India in England, led the event and hoisted the tricolour.
  • Cultural highlights included Mi Marathi Dhol Group, a classical dance by Madhura Godbole, and a Tamil flash mob by Spice FM.
  • Senior civic leaders, academics, and business figures attended, making it a landmark occasion for the Indian community in the North East of England.

Newcastle hosts first-ever official Independence Day event

The Indian Consulate in Newcastle upon Tyne hosted its first-ever official Independence Day celebration this week, coinciding with India’s 79th Independence Day. The event, hosted at the Civic Centre, coincided with India’s 79th Independence Day and was attended by a cross-section of civic leaders, academics, business representatives, and cultural figures.

Newcastle marks India\u2019s 79th Independence Day The Indian Consulate in Newcastle upon Tyne hosted its first-ever official Independence Day celebration this weekAMG

Keep ReadingShow less
Sadiq Khan open to meeting Trump, warns he is “not a force for good”
Sadiq Khan

Sadiq Khan open to meeting Trump, warns he is “not a force for good”

London mayor Sadiq Khan said he would be willing to meet Donald Trump, even as he warned the US president could be “inadvertently radicalising people” and was “not a force for good”.

The Labour politician dismissed Trump’s recent jibes during a visit to Scotland, where the president called him “a nasty person” who had “done a terrible job”. Khan said the remarks were “water off a duck’s back”, though at times they made him feel “nine years old again” and “in the school playground”.

Keep ReadingShow less