NHS: Extra 1p?

Our NHS is on the edge. A&E waiting times getting longer. [1] Thousands of operations cancelled. [2] Staff stretched to breaking point. [3] Patients like us know our health service needs more funding.

Finally, the government is listening. News is breaking that they’re considering a National Insurance tax rise to fund our NHS. It would increase contributions by 1p for every pound we currently pay. [4]

Governments do this from time to time. They float ideas in the media to see how the public reacts, and they make decisions based on the reaction. If thousands of us get behind the idea, a big show of public support could make it a reality. Or, if thousands of us tell the government to go back to the drawing board, it could stop the plans altogether.

In our thousands, 38 Degrees members can affect the government’s decision on NHS funding. So what do you think?

Should the government raise National Insurance by 1p to help fund our NHS?

TAKE THE SURVEY

38 Degrees members have a history of standing up for our NHS. We’ve exposed secret plans to cut funding and stopped them. [5] We’ve saved urgent care centres from closure. [6] And when the winter crisis hit in January, thousands of us made sure the blame was pinned on politicians – not the weather – for failing to give our NHS the money it needs. [7]

It’s working. Because we’ve kept up the pressure, the government is now floating ideas which would give our NHS more funding. [8]

38 Degrees only works because thousands of us come together to get involved. That means our plans are decided by our members – that’s you. If we all decide to campaign on this we could grab the headlines, show public support for the policy and help convince the government. But we’re only powerful when we pull together in the same direction.

NOTES:
[1] The Guardian: NHS hospitals in England record worst ever A&E performance:
https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/feb/08/nhs-hospitals-england-worst-a-and-e-performance
[2] The Independent: NHS winter crisis: Theresa May apologises to patients for thousands of cancelled operations:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/theresa-may-nhs-crisis-winter-apology-patients-cancelled-operations-latest-updates-a8141591.html
[3] Sunday Express: NHS crisis exposed: Nearly a third of staff have witnessed potentially harmful errors:
https://www.express.co.uk/news/uk/928134/NHS-crisis-frontline-third-staff-witnessed-harmful-errors-near-misses-health
[4] The Daily Mail: Now ministers plan ‘NHS tax’: National Insurance could rise by a penny in the pound to prevent a repeat of this winter’s A&E crisis:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-5507867/Now-ministers-plan-NHS-tax-fund-health-spending-boost.html
The Spectator: Revealed: the Tory health tax bombshell:
https://www.spectator.co.uk/2018/03/revealed-the-tory-health-tax-bombshell/
[5] 38 Degrees: What we’ve achieved so far this year for our NHS:
https://home.38degrees.org.uk/2017/08/09/ournhsthisyear/
[6] 38 Degrees: We saved Corby urgent care centre:
https://home.38degrees.org.uk/2017/10/19/saved-corby-urgent-care-centre/
[7] 38 Degrees: NHS Winter Crisis: an update!:
https://home.38degrees.org.uk/2018/01/29/nhs-winter-crisis-update/
[8] BBC News: Ministers talking about how to get more cash into NHS:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-43381133