Green Party proposes ‘game-changing’ £50bn health and social care package

The Green Party is proposing to deliver a “game-changing” £50 billion plan for health and social care by 2030.

The package, which would be provided over the next five years, includes £30 billion for the NHS to go towards increasing workers’ salaries and providing better access to GPs and NHS dentists.

Social care will receive the remaining £20 billion, which the party said will be used to mend the “broken care system”.

Additionally, the party has pledged to spend £20 billion on bringing crumbling hospitals and outdated equipment up to modern standards.

Green Party co-leader Adrian Ramsay (pictured) said the policy will be funded by “asking the very richest in our society to pay a modest amount more in tax”.

He said: “Our NHS is at breaking point following 14 years of underfunding. Patients are stuck in hospital corridors, people can’t see their GP or NHS dentist when they need to and staff are severely overstretched.

“Greens believe passionately in the NHS and we are the only party to be honest with the public that it’s going to cost money to nurse the NHS back to health after 14 years of Conservative damage.

“Not just by shifting a small pot around, but by asking the very richest in our society to pay a modest amount more in tax to fund the investment we need to nurse the NHS back to health.

“Our plans are credible, deliverable and fully funded.

“With the political will and a fairer, greener tax system we can offer real hope and real change for the NHS we all treasure. With more Greens in the next Parliament we will press the new government to take the action needed to restore our NHS.”

The move comes after the Green Party announced it would be undertaking a “full review” of its health policy after concerns were raised about its plan to reduce the number of medical interventions in childbirth.

The party’s health policy document said there has been a rise in Caesarean sections, which it described as “expensive and, when not medically required, risky”.

A change to NHS culture is also proposed in the document to ensure that “birth is treated as a normal and non-medical event”.

Green Party health spokesperson Dr Pallavi Devulapalli said there is “no intention to stop or reduce medical care provision during pregnancy and childbirth”.

The health policy document on the party’s website – which was last updated in April 2024 – has since been taken down.

Ahead of the package announcement, co-leader Carla Denyer said: “We all know the importance of the NHS. But it is only the Greens who are offering a cast-iron guarantee to push back against the creeping privatisation of the NHS.

“In contrast, Wes Streeting, the shadow health secretary, said he would “hold the door wide open” to an increased role for the private sector in our precious NHS.

“Our Green guarantee to protect the NHS from privatisation, combined with today’s announcement, represents a game-changing offer for our National Health Service that will restore the dignity of staff and patients alike.

“It offers real change from the managed decline of recent years and offers real hope to all of us who rely on the NHS.”

Dr Devulapalli said: “I’ve seen first-hand the impact years of underinvestment and managed decline has had on the NHS and the service received by the patients.

“It breaks my heart when patients come into my surgery and I know they won’t get the care they need in a timely manner.

“But it doesn’t have to be like this. With the political will we can have an NHS that puts the patient first and ensures world beating quality of care.

“But for this to happen we need the investment and that’s why I am so proud of the Green Party for being honest and brave enough to say not just what needs to happen, but how we can afford to make it happen.

“If you want real change and real hope in the NHS there is one party that is offering to make that a reality.”

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