‘No NHS waiting lists’ for London as Labor claims party visits Croydon

Croydonians would have more money in their pockets and not have to wait on NHS waiting lists for operations if Labor won the general election, the party has claimed. Shadow Work and Pensions Secretary Liz Kendall was visiting BoonCafé in South Croydon on Tuesday 18th June.

The Trust for London says the borough has an above-average rate of poverty, unemployment and lack of income, as well as more people on benefits than the rest of the city. Ms Kendell suggested Labour’s performance on NHS waiting lists last time it was in power was enough to show it could clear the backlog this time.

Labour’s manifesto has been criticized by experts, who say it does not present “a single concrete action related to social benefits”. It states: “Labour is committed to overhauling Universal Credit so that it makes work pay and tackles poverty. We want to end the mass reliance on emergency food parcels, which is a moral scar on our society.” The document adds: “We will tackle the delay in access to work applications and give disabled people the confidence to start work without the fear of an immediate benefit reassessment if it doesn’t work.

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“We believe that workability assessment is not working and needs to be reformed or replaced, alongside a proper plan to support disabled people into work (…) Labor will reform employment support so that it boosts growth and the opportunities. Our system will be supported. by rights and responsibilities – people who can work, should work – and there will be consequences for those who do not fulfill their obligations.”

Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer has spoken about how his party’s promises will be funded by economic growth. MyLondon asked Ms Kendall how the party would get the money needed for its plans – including mental health support in every secondary school and careers advice centers – if this did not happen.

“I don’t accept defeatism”

She said: “It will be. I don’t accept defeatism. I’m in politics to change things.” Of the economy which has largely stagnated in recent years, the East Midlands candidate added: “That’s because we’ve had the Tories in power.

“They didn’t prioritize (growth). We’re going to grow the economy and I’ll tell you how I know that, because that’s what we did when I was last in government.”

She also said Londoners feel they have “had their hopes up”. Ms Kendall then recalled Labour’s landslide victory under Tony Blair 27 years ago.

“I remember in 1997,” she said, “we (said) we were going to take 100,000 people off the (NHS) waiting list and we were criticized, ‘oh, that’s not bold enough!’ But we left the government after waiting, so it was a first step as part of a 10-year program and I think that’s what we need, but we can and will start immediately.

Croydonians would be ‘better off’

Day to Day, she added that Londoners would be “better off” because they would not have to deal with “chaos” under the Tories. Skills would also be “revised” with an increase in green technology and planning rules would be “reformed” to build new homes.

Labor has promised to reclassify former “low quality” green belt land to “grey belt” for development. London Mayor Sadiq Khan previously said he intended to stop “inappropriate attempts to designate the Green Belt” and that “boundaries should only be changed in exceptional circumstances”.

Ms Kendall would not be drawn on what exactly the party stands for with the changes to Universal Credit (UC) – saying she would like to see it “make work pay” – and the consequences for people “not meeting their work obligations”. MyLondon has contacted the Conservative Party for comment. The Tories have pledged to “increase NHS spending above inflation every year, recruiting 92,000 more nurses and 28,000 more doctors” to help improve waiting list times.

Full list of Croydon South candidates

• Reform Britain, Bob Bromley

• Green, Elaine Garrod

• Liberal Democrat, Richard Howard

• Labor Party of Great Britain, Kulsum Hussin

• Conservative, Chris Philp

• Independent, Mark Samuel

• Work, Ben Taylor

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