The NHS is in the news - with the papers undecided about who to blame for delays at Accident and Emergency departments across the UK. Politicians are sure, however; it's the other politicians.
The script is drearily familiar. Andy Silvester, our Campaign Director, wrote for ConservativeHome yesterday that unless politicians are more honest about the challenges the Health Service faces, it may well not survive. Currently, politicians are simply signing more and more borrowed cheques. That is simply unsustainable. You can read the full piece here.
It would perhaps be naïve to expect politicians to be honest five months before an election. But if politicians really care as much as they say they do about the principle of the NHS – good quality, taxpayer-funded healthcare free at the point of use – then they need to come up with something more substantial than soundbites and spending pledges. The people who rely on the service, and will rely on it in the future, deserve better.