28 Jun All bets on a Labour Government
All bets on a Labour Government
It may be too soon to mention bets and election day in the same sentence, but with less than a week until polling day and the final TV debate between Rishi Sunak and Kier Starmer ticked off – barring catastrophe – Labour look set to take a landslide victory on the 4th July. Sitting on a comfortable lead in the polls, Labour’s election campaign has focussed on risk mitigation and has been characterised by detail light policy announcements, as they look to tread a careful balance and avoid committing themselves to promises they cannot keep.
Given this, it would be easy to accept the Tory attack line that a future Labour government are light on plans. The reality of course is very different, and in fact much of the thinking that will form the foundations of a Labour Government has already been done.
In this blog, we take a look beyond the Labour manifesto at the announcements, missions and pledges that have been trailed in the 18 months leading up to the election to help you understand what a Labour win on election day could mean for health and life sciences in the UK.
Life sciences
Although the Labour manifesto recognises the life sciences industry as key to improving the health of the nation, it doesn’t go much beyond a commitment to develop an NHS innovation and adoption strategy, and a plan to maximise the UK’s potential to lead the world in clinical trials.
However, earlier this year, Wes Streeting and Peter Kyle, launched Labour’s Life Sciences Sector Plan and the ‘Prescription for Growth’ policy document was published to coincide with the party’s sell-out business conference. The documents outline Labour’s plans for the sector spanning industrial strategy, R&D, data, access to finance, regulation, innovation, adoption, skills, IP and trade. Despite not ranking as one of their headline manifesto priorities, sector-specific commitments in the plan indicate that life sciences remain a significant priority to the Party.
In addition to the Sector Plan, comments from key figures in the Party leadership have further indicated their intention for life sciences. At the Labour Party Conference, Streeting noted that genomics and data will be at the heart of Labour’s plan for change and in a press release last summer, Labour pledged to reduce red tape in adopting new technology for the NHS. More recently at the ABPI’s annual conference in April, Shadow Minister for Science, Research & Innovation, Chi Onwurah, said that implementing the O’Shaughnessy Review recommendations would be a top priority for Labour’s first 100 days in Government, highlighting that Labour recognise the importance of a strong research and innovation environment.
Cancer and major conditions
Beyond outlining a renewed drive to tackle the biggest killers and announcing a ‘Fit For the Future’ fund to double the number of CT and MRI scanners, Labour’s manifesto didn’t articulate its plans for addressing poor patient outcomes in cancer and other major conditions in much detail. However, looking back to December 2023, when Labour announced their pledge to ‘Catch Up On Cancer’ it is possible to get a better understanding of Labour’s thinking in this space. In addition to trailing the plan to double the number of CT and MRI scanners, the pledge also included plans to deliver an extra two million appointments on evenings and weekends. Commenting on the announcement at the time Streeting referred to cancer as the “canary in the coalmine”, adding that, “after the first term of a Labour government, people should judge us by whether we have improved cancer services and improved survival rates.” Cancer services and survival rates are likely to be prioritised by Labour as a bellwether for the performance of the wider health service.
Looking beyond cancer, in his mission speech for health in May 2023, Starmer outlined Labour’s objective to reduce deaths from heart disease and strokes by a quarter within a decade, a metric which wasn’t included in the manifesto. Labour’s aim to change the NHS so that it becomes not just a sickness service, but able to prevent ill heath in the first place, will likely be key to delivering this objective.
Public health
Having already expressed support for the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, and included a manifesto commitment to ensure that the next generation can never legally buy cigarettes, it is conceivable that Labour could resurrect Rishi Sunak’s flagship smoking ban early in the parliamentary term. With the foundations to the Bill already drafted it would be a quick win, but the Party will be keen to shed the Conservative connotations attached to the Bill.
Reports that Labour would introduce a “roadmap to a smoke-free Britain” in its manifesto do in fact date back to January 2023, prior to Sunak’s announcement of the policy. Labour has also pledged to integrate “optout” smoking cessation interventions into routine care which may be included in an updated version of the Bill. Additionally, after visiting Australia in December 2023 and hearing about their e-cigarette legislation, Streeting suggested that vapes could be made prescription-only.
Mental health
Mental health is one of the areas that features more prominently in Labour’s manifesto, including commitments that were previously announced to modernise mental health legislation and recruit 8,500 additional mental health staff through the first parliamentary term. This is expected to be a priority and speaking in a parliamentary debate on the King’s Speech in November 2023, Streeting pledged that Labour would reform the Mental Health Act in their first King’s Speech.
Whilst the above commitments in the Labour manifesto had been announced previously, there was one notable omission that had been in Labour’s policy plans previously. In May 2023, extracts from Labour’s expected policy programme also included a long-term plan to improve mental health outcomes. The omission of this from the manifesto would suggest that legislative reform to the Mental Health Act will be Labour’s immediate priority to improve the lives of people living with mental illness.
A plan for funding?
Beyond the manifesto, it is clear that Labour do have a more detailed set of plans and priorities for the health and life sciences sector but one key question remains – how will they be funded?
In its election campaign, Labour have been clear that they will not increase taxes on working people, leaving them with a tight fiscal framework to deliver its reform agenda. Expect the immediate focus to be on driving efficiency improvements and optimising the allocation of existing resources rather than the delivery of any big cash injections. Actions that can be delivered quickly, with limited funding input, such as new smoking legislation, will likely be the priority but we’ll need to wait until the King’s Speech, expected on the 17th July, for confirmation.