6Nursing Times May 2017 / Vol 113 Issue 5 www.nursingtimes.net

Nursing NewsA nurse’s guideto the 2017general election

were being forced to use food banks, but avoided making any commitments on either.

Many organisations have put out their own manifestos, in which they have called on all three parties to tackle issues close to their agenda. The Royal College of Nursing, for example, has used its manifesto to call on party leaders to “put patients before politics”, with accurate and costed pledges on the NHS.

Janet Davies, RCN chief executive and general secretary, said: “The last thing public services need are sums that do not add up. Slogans on buses and uncosted wish lists let patients down.”

Among its priorities, it has called for the future government to ensure safe staffing levels, better pay for nurses, and the right for EU nursing staff to remain after

Brexit. It also got its voice heard in Andrew Marr’s

high-profile interview with Ms May, later criticising Ms May

for failing to adequately reply to

questions on nurse pay.

alamy

would guarantee the rights of EU nationals in the NHS and social care services to remain in the UK and continue its commitment to “true parity of esteem” for mental health.

It also pledged to establish an independent, cross-party body – the NHS and Care Convention – that would

engage staff and the public in a “national

conversation” on policy. Mr Lamb added: “One of the biggest challenges

facing the next government is to rebuild

trust with nurses and other NHS staff who are feeling overstretched, undervalued and demoralised. The Liberal Democrat manifesto will contain firm commitments on nurses’ pay, as well as funding for training.”

As in previous elections, the party that has remained the quietest on health policy is the Conservatives, preferring to concentrate on Brexit. Of course, as the standing government, it already has a range of health policies in place, though some commentators have predicted further measures to tackle the social care funding crisis.

Prime minister Theresa May (right) was quizzed recently in a BBC interview on nurses’ pay and suggestions that nurses

EXCLUSIVE Steve Fordsteve.ford@emap.com

Who is promising what on health ahead of the general election, and who should nurses vote for? Difficult questions to answer, but here Nursing Times sets out some of what we know so far.

While Brexit may have inevitably dominated the early days after the calling of the snap general election next month, policies impacting on healthcare and nursing have increasingly come to the fore.

As Nursing Times went to press, none of the parties had yet published their election manifestos – the Conservatives’ is expected on 8 May and Labour’s on 15 May – but here is what we know so far.

Labour has been the first to make a definite play for the votes of those with health and social care policies on their mind. On 25 April, it announced a “three-point election guarantee” for the NHS, with a promise to scrap the 1% cap on pay rises, reinstate the student nurse bursary and enshrine safe staffing in law.

All of these policies would come with a significant price tag, though the party has said reversing the government’s reductions in corporation tax would cover their cost.

In a speech, Labour health spokesman Jonathan

Ashworth (below, left) said: “We won’t make promises on behalf of the NHS without giving the NHS the resources and the tools to deliver those promises. The NHS under Labour will always get the funding it needs.”

More announcements on health policies are expected to follow from the party, potentially including a guarantee on the future status of European Union staff working for the NHS after Brexit.

Meanwhile, a Liberal Democrat spokesperson told Nursing Times that the party’s manifesto would also include financial pledges to boost nurse pay and training.

In the meantime, it highlighted five key election commitments, including investing in public health,

social care, primary care and mental health.

Controversially, it also said it will add an extra 1p on income tax to provide an

“emergency injection of resources” to tackle the

NHS funding crisis.Liberal Democrat health

spokesman Norman Lamb (above, right) said: “We urgently need to increase its funding and secure its future, and the Liberal Democrats are prepared to take bold measures on taxation to achieve this.”

In addition, the party

7Nursing Times May 2017 / Vol 113 Issue 5 www.nursingtimes.net

Exclusive: How Nursing Times readers plan to vote in the electionLabour looks set to win the lion’s share of the nursing vote in the snap general election on 8 June, with nearly half planning to vote for the party, a survey by Nursing Times indicates.

Our online survey of 1,500 nurses found that 49% of respondents plan to vote for the Labour party, followed by 16% who plan to vote Conservative and 8% who plan to vote for the Liberal Democrats.

However, around 18% said they were yet to make up their mind which party they would be putting their cross next to on ballot day, and 3% said they did not plan to vote at all.

The remaining 6% were split between the Green Party, UK Independence Party and the two pro-independence parties in Wales and Scotland – the Scottish National Party and Plaid Cymru.

But how nurses plan to vote does not necessarily tally with which party’s policies they think were most friendly to health and social care, suggesting that issues such as Brexit are more important for some.

Around 60% thought Labour’s policies would benefit the health and social care sector the most, compared with 11% for the

Conservatives and 5% for the Liberal Democrats – though 16% were undecided.

Those planning to vote Conservative or Liberal Democrat tended to be older – aged either 46-55 or over 55 – while would-be Labour voters were spread more evenly across the age ranges.

When looked at by sector, Labour were most popular with mental health nurses. The Conservatives appeared to be most popular with nurses working in primary care and in nursing or care homes, and the Liberal Democrats scored best with those in community services.

Overall, the survey suggests a slight swing towards the three main parties among nurses compared with the last election in 2015, when higher percentages of respondents said they would vote for smaller parties, especially the Green Party and UKIP.

When we carried out the same survey in 2015, 47% said they would vote for Labour, 10% for the Conservatives, 8% for the Green Party, 6% for UKIP and 5% for the Liberal Democrats.

Thanks to all the readers who took part in our survey between 25 April and 5 May.

Nursing NewsAnalysis

Inevitably, Unison and Unite have urged members to vote Labour, as both unions are affiliated to the party.

In fact, a theatre nurse and former Unison president is hoping to win a marginal seat in the West Midlands. Eleanor Smith, who works at Birmingham Women’s and Children’s Foundation Trust, is the new Labour candidate for Wolverhampton South West. In September she addressed the Trades Union Congress in Brighton on the government’s controversial decision to scrap the student bursary, describing it as a “massively retrograde step”.

However, while the political parties and their supporters continue to vie for power over the coming weeks, our survey (see right) indicates they will have to work hard to shake off a negative feeling among many nurses. “Politicians always preach what suits NHS, but when they come to power it’s a different thing,” said one respondent, while another said: “We are currently used as a pawn in every election campaign.”

Which party do you plan to vote for in the snap general election on 8 June?

Which party’s policies in general do you think would benefit the health and social care sector most?

In 2015, we also asked nurses who they planned to vote for in the general election.

■ Conservative 16% ■ Labour 49% ■ Liberal Democrat 8% ■ Green 1% ■ UKIP 1% ■ Plaid Cymru 0.5% ■ Scottish National Party 3% ■ Other Party 0.5% ■ Don’t know yet 18% ■ I won’t be voting 3%

■ Conservative 11% ■ Labour 61% ■ Liberal Democrat 5% ■ Green 2% ■ UKIP 1% ■ Scottish National Party 3% ■ Other Party 1% ■ Don’t know 16%

■ Other 1% ■ Undecided 17%■ Conservative Party 10%■ Labour Party 47% ■ Liberal Democrats 5%■ Green Party 8%■ UKIP 6% ■ Plaid Cymru 1%■ Scottish National Party 5%

Other Party Communist Party, Democratic Unionist Party, Liberal Alliance, Plaid Cymru

Other Party Communist Party, Democratic Unionist Party, National Health Action Party

2017 2017 2015