Autumn Statement: Government allowing local health services to crumble

Before the Autumn Statement, the Party had been calling for the Chancellor to invest in a robust NHS rescue plan, as ever-growing treatment backlogs have stalled the economy, damaging both growth and quality of life. 

These measures would have included reversing Conservative cuts to vital public health services in Harpenden & Berkhamsted, and delivering 8,000 more GPs across the country to create 65 million more appointments every year.

It comes as the Liberal Democrats have warned that treatment backlogs are damaging economic growth. A poll commissioned by the Party showed that one in seven people had taken a significant length of time off work while waiting for treatment on the NHS.

Apart from ignoring the crisis in our health service, the Chancellor proposed tax changes that will not ‘touch the sides’. This comes after years of unfair tax hikes that local Conservative MPs, including Bim Afolami and Gagan Mohindra, have consistently voted in favour of. 

Victoria Collins, Liberal Democrat Spokesperson for Harpenden & Berkhamsted, said:

“This Conservative Government seems happy to sit back while Hertfordshire’s local health services crumble. 

“Can they not see how many people are struggling to access healthcare, or do they simply not care? Whichever is the case, they are completely out-of-touch.”

“The Autumn Statement was an opportunity to get people off NHS waiting lists and back to work, so that we can rescue our economy from intensive care. 

“Instead, we got empty promises and a tax cut that’s a tiny fraction of what people have already paid. Quite frankly, for everyone who is struggling to make ends meet or to access the care they need, this is just an insult.”