{"id":204706,"date":"2025-10-16T17:57:13","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T17:57:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/204706\/"},"modified":"2025-10-16T17:57:13","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T17:57:13","slug":"the-nhs-is-now-wide-open-as-an-issue-as-narrows-labours-lead","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/204706\/","title":{"rendered":"The NHS Is Now “Wide Open” As An Issue As Narrows Labour’s Lead"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"The<\/p>\n

Prime Minister Keir Starmer launched the government’s 10 Year Health Plan in July (Alamy)<\/p>\n


\n \"Zoe
\n <\/a><\/p>\n


\n 3 min read15 October
\n \n <\/p>\n

Public trust in Labour as being the strongest party on the NHS is waning, with Reform UK only three percentage points behind, according to research\u00a0shared with PoliticsHome.<\/p>\n

Ipsos polling, included in analysis\u00a0with\u00a0the Health Foundation think tank for the recent party conference season,\u00a0shows that only 18 per cent of the public in\u00a0September felt Labour would do the best job in improving the NHS compared to the other political parties, down from 24 per cent six months earlier in March.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Meanwhile, public trust in Reform to improve the NHS has increased from 11 per cent to 15 per cent over the same period, putting Nigel Farage\u2019s party only three percentage points behind the governing Labour Party.<\/p>\n

The Conservatives\u00a0saw no change in public trust in their ability to govern the NHS between March and September (at 10 per cent), while trust in both the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party to run\u00a0the NHS increased by one percentage point each, to 7 and 5 per cent respectively.<\/p>\n

The research was carried out in early September and interviewed 2,272 people online. It is part of a\u00a0wider look<\/a> at public views on\u00a0the NHS over a year on from Labour’s general election win in July last year, authored by Health Foundation assistant director Pete Stilwell and Ipsos research director Kate Duxbury.<\/p>\n

\"Graph
\nSurvey results showing the change in public trust in political parties to improve the NHS between March and September 2025 (Ipsos) <\/p>\n

The NHS\u00a0has historically been one of Labour’s strongest policy areas, with the health service itself having been established by Clement Attlee\u2019s Labour government in 1948.<\/p>\n

According to YouGov’s latest research, health is the third most important issue for UK voters, coming after only migration and the economy.<\/p>\n

Keir Starmer put reducing\u00a0NHS waiting times at the heart of Labour’s election-winning manifesto. The government is committed to making sure 92 per cent of waits are within 18 weeks before the next general election. According to Health Foundation research published late last month<\/a>, however, the government faces falling just slightly short of hitting that headline target as things stand.<\/p>\n

Ministers\u00a0face\u00a0a tricky few months on the health front,\u00a0with industrial action over pay combined with\u00a0winter pressures expected to put the health service under severe strain.<\/p>\n

\u201cEqually striking is the overall lack of trust in any party on the NHS,\u201d said Stilwell, commenting on the findings.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen asked about which party would do the best job to improve the NHS, more than 2 in 5 answered \u2018none\u2019 or \u2018don\u2019t know\u2019.\u201d<\/p>\n

Stilwell told PoliticsHome that\u00a0the\u00a0results\u00a0show that \u201cthe door\u00a0is wide open for taking the initiative on the NHS\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe stakes couldn\u2019t be higher for Labour, which has historically gone into elections with a commanding lead on the question of who is most trusted on the NHS,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

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