May 10th, 2018
How would you fund the NHS?
By 38 Degrees team
The results are in. Over 100,000 of us shared our views on whether we should campaign for a tax rise to fund our cash-strapped NHS. [1] An enormous 81% of us said yes – so now it’s time to press ahead with the plan to get our NHS more money. [2]
There are lots of different ways that a small tax rise could work. So we’ve come up with four simple policies to give the NHS the money it needs. Now it’s time to vote for our favourites.
If thousands of us pick which tax policies we like the best, we can hire top economists to look at them in more detail. Their analysis could find out which are the most fair and affordable, and which could add up to enough money to help fund our NHS properly.
We’re powerful when more of us have our say, Mike. Will you vote for which policies you like best to get our NHS more money? It only takes a couple of minutes and there is information to explain each policy:
Right now Theresa May is weighing up how to fund our NHS for the long-term. [3] She could come up with a solution that gives our NHS the money it desperately needs, or she could listen to the voices telling her not to spend more money. [4]
That’s why it’s so important that we come together – in our hundreds of thousands – to vote for policies that could help fund our NHS. Then we can hire economists to find out the impact each idea could have. Whether they’ll be enough to fund our NHS and whether they’ll be affordable or fair.
So let’s get started. Mike, will you vote for which tax policies you like best to fund our NHS? It only takes a few minutes.
[1] Here are some articles referencing Theresa May, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt, and health experts talking about the NHS needing more money:
Financial Times: Theresa May signals imminent extra funding for NHS:
https://www.ft.com/content/97302320-31e3-11e8-b5bf-23cb17fd1498
The Guardian: Jeremy Hunt admits NHS needs more money after facing calls to quit:
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2018/jan/10/jeremy-corbyn-theresa-may-pmqs-nhs-winter-crisis
Fullfact: How much money does the NHS need and how much is it actually getting?:
“Experts at the King’s Fund, Nuffield Trust and Health Foundation think tanks previously estimated that the NHS actually needed a spending increase of around £4 billion that year, based on how spending has increased previously in the NHS and how much its costs are considered likely to increase by.”:
https://fullfact.org/health/how-much-money-does-nhs-need/
[2] 38 Degrees: Our biggest ever NHS funding campaign – the results:
https://home.38degrees.org.uk/2018/05/03/our-biggest-ever-nhs-funding-campaign-the-results/
[3] Politicians and influential experts have been reporting that raising taxes to fund the NHS is on the government’s agenda. There are lots of different ways more money could be raised to help fund services, but right now it looks like the most likely way to do this is to push the government to commit to increasing taxes. You can read more here:
BBC: NHS: PM to look at ‘multi-year’ funding plan for health service:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-43558878
New Statesman: To save the NHS, we need a ring-fenced tax:
https://www.newstatesman.com/spotlight/healthcare/2018/04/save-nhs-we-need-ring-fenced-tax
The Times (Paywall): Majority of voters back tax rise in aid of the NHS:
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/majority-of-voters-back-tax-rise-in-aid-of-the-nhs-dxwwn2szq
The Daily Mail: NHS tax on the cards as 98 MPs call for inquiry into the social care crisis after Jeremy Hunt called for a ten-year NHS spending deal to fix its budget problems:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-5543101/NHS-tax-cards-98-MPs-call-inquiry.html
The Mirror: Will tax rise 1p for the NHS? Top Tory Jeremy Hunt signals he backs radical plan to solve funding crisis:
https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/tax-rise-1p-nhs-top-12249251
[4] The Telegraph: Cabinet split over health funding plan as Liz Truss says a ring-fenced NHS tax would be a ‘bad thing’:
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2018/04/19/cabinet-split-health-funding-plan-liz-truss-says-ring-fenced/
Right now the influential lobby group TaxPayers Alliance are also speaking out against a ring-fenced tax rise to fund the NHS:
BBC News: How should we pay for the NHS?:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-politics-43546689/how-should-we-pay-for-the-nhs
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