Labour launched its election manifesto on Thursday, focusing on economic growth and the offer of a fresh start after 14 years of Conservative rule. Here, six people who work in education, health and social care share their views on the pledges made by the UK’s political parties. ‘The NHS needs incentive and retention schemes’ Part of the Labour manifesto is to scrap the “8am scramble for GP appointments”. This is fuelling already prevalent animosity towards primary care – GPs and their teams are working very hard to provide appointments. The number of GP appointments is going up all the time, the majority of people were seen within two weeks, and the majority were seen face to face. The area where I work already has excellent integrated services with close working between different teams. I believe the issues lie in areas where it is difficult to recruit and retain staff, such as rural deprived areas. These would require incentive and retention schemes, of which there is no mention in the manifesto. There is also no mention in the budget of increasing benefits [though Labour has said it will review universal credit] or increasing substance misuse services. These are clearly drivers of poverty, poor health outcomes and increased crime. I would have also liked to have seen a tangible plan for taking care back into public control. Sara McNamara, 33, GP in London ‘The Lib Dems’ commitment to social care is a breath of fresh air’ The party that has really impressed me this year is the Lib Dems and their commitment to social care. It’s a breath of fresh air and if nothing else comes of it, they have managed to get people talking about it. The Lib Dems really grasp it – their leader is a carer and has that first-hand experience and you can tell he believes in these things. They have put carers at the heart of their manifesto, including through increasing hourly rate of care for formal carers. As far as I’m concerned, there’s a crisis in both informal and formal care for different reasons. At the moment, we have a shortage of good quality care agencies we’re able to commission to support vulnerable people in the community. There’s a real epidemic of poor-quality care and that’s a cost issue. Part of the reason for that is because it’s a poorly recognised and paid industry requiring a great deal of skill, with very little resources for training and development that struggles to recruit and retain staff. Carers are not valued or well supported. Stacey, 39, NHS social worker in the West Midlands ‘The Green party’s manifesto has real substance’ Labour plans to recruit 6,500 teachers but also says teachers are leaving the profession in droves. How will recruiting new teachers help? Labour should either be tackling academy executive pay or ideally abolishing academies as they have been used as a stealth privatisation programme that incentivises reducing spending on students. [Labour intends to replace single Ofsted grades with a report card system] but they should be behind the unions’ call for abolishing and replacing Ofsted. The Conservative manifesto equates to an effective budget cut for all schools. Extremely important topics for students such as sex education will be weaponised in a phoney culture war. Children will suffer from the extreme pressures put on them by constant testing.
The Green party is the only one I’ve read with some substance and plans to tackle the funding and recruitment crisis. They are not going to be in government but can add a voice to abolishing Ofsted and reducing high-stakes testing, which are extremely effective policies on their own. Robin, 38, science technician in a secondary school in Yorkshire ‘I’m pleased Labour have included breakfast clubs’ I am pleased that Labour has included the policy of free breakfast clubs for primary schools. I think this is an often misunderstood issue. I have heard many people react with “why can’t people give their children a piece of toast?”. But breakfast clubs are about so much more than food, although food when you are struggling is one of the most significant expenditures. It is paying for the staff to supervise that makes a difference. At our school, children can take part in craft activities, play with a range of toys they may not have access to at home, and play outdoors in a safe environment. They also get extra opportunities to develop their social skills and many with SEN or emotional needs find a softer, friendlier start helps them get on with the day. As a teacher it gives you a chance to check in with children who are struggling or need support before you are faced with the full class. For working parents, having to pay for breakfast club for more than one child, five days a week can be an extra cost. Being able to drop children off at 8am and know they are safe helps some parents get back into work. What kind of a country are we if we begrudge children this? I would have rather seen a more significant wealth tax in the Labour manifesto but maybe it is wise to keep this for a second term. Claire Openshaw, 56, primary school teacher in Hull ‘I’m pleased the Lib Dems intend to give parity of esteem to mental health’ I’m pleased to see commitments from the Lib Dems and Labour to hire more GPs. I’m aware of the recent issues around practices being given funding to hire physician associates or pharmacists but not GPs. This has led to patients being seen by less qualified and experienced clinicians and [added to] GPs struggling to find work. I’m also pleased to see that the Lib Dems intend to give parity of esteem to mental health. Too often mental health services have been underfunded and relegated to second-rate buildings in the car park, as far from the acute hospital as possible. Regarding the strikes, I think the BMA has made a huge error of judgment in calling for further industrial action [from 27 June to 2 July] during the election campaign. I took part in all of the previous strikes because I thought the benefits of the action outweighed any negative impact on patient care. Striking during a general election will only harm patient care without the possibility of yielding any long-term benefits for the NHS. For this reason, I think the turnout on picket lines will be very low. Dominic, 32, junior doctor in London ‘Labour must commit to pay restoration’ Although the Labour manifesto is titled Change, it’s hardly a seismic shift from the status quo. It looks like Labour is trying to avoid a Neil Kinnock moment by not announcing anything too outrageous. The Tory manifesto has a few good ideas such as reducing national insurance. The Labour manifesto talks about more NHS clinic provisions in the evenings and weekends, which is to be cautiously welcomed. The NHS runs on caffeine and goodwill, and neither main party seems to have grasped the loss of goodwill over the last 14 years due to worsening working conditions and real-terms pay cuts. Neither main party has mentioned the £100,000 cliff edge for assisted childcare. Many colleagues with young families are cutting hours or turning down extra clinics to stay under the limit. It is a disincentive to work.
I would welcome the extra income from extra evening and weekend clinics, but the mood music among NHS consultants who would be providing these services is that an extremely good offer would have to be made and probably wouldn’t be reached without first committing to pay restoration. Daniel, in his 40s, surgeon in Devon