Polling day is rapidly approaching and all the main party manifestos have now been published. But when it comes to health and care, do we know what we’re voting for? Many commentators have expressed deep frustration at the opacity of the political debate – not just about the state we are in, but on the plans to get out of it.

This matters because whoever wins the election faces a daunting series of challenges. Not least cratering public satisfaction with NHS services, an elective care waiting list standing at 7.6 million, rising levels of ill health among working-age people, and an economy growing too slowly to support the funding and investment public services will require.

So what are the main parties promising on health, are their pledges in tune with the public mood, and are their plans equal to the scale of the challenges?  

To discuss, our Chief Executive Jennifer Dixon is joined by:

Sam Freedman, Senior Fellow at the Institute for Government and former Senior Policy Adviser to Michael Gove at the Department for Education. 

Paul Corrigan, Management Consultant and former Special Adviser to Alan Milburn and Tony Blair under New Labour. Paul is currently advising the Labour Party on health policy.

The Health Foundation (2024). General election 2024 collection. 

The Health Foundation (2024). What's in the party manifestos on health and care?

The Health Foundation (2024). Do the manifestos cut it on health?

Institute For Government (2023). The NHS productivity puzzle: Why has hospital activity not increased in line with funding and staffing?

Institute For Government and CIPFA (2023). Performance Tracker 2023: Hospitals. 

Timmins, N (2021). The Health Foundation. The most expensive breakfast in history: revisiting the Wanless review 20 years on. The Health Foundation.