Lib Dems penny for NHS would raise £32m extra for Newcastle health and social care

The Liberal Democrats have announced they would plug funding gaps for the NHS and social care by putting a penny on income tax, in their first major manifesto commitment of the election campaign.

The tax would raise an additional £32m for Newcastle, with around £20m for the NHS and £11.5m for social care each year.

This is the party's flagship spending commitment and its first major policy announcement for the election. The Liberal Democrats manifesto will also set out a 'five-point recovery plan' for NHS and social care services in their manifesto.

At least 70% of Brits would happily pay an extra 1p in every pound if that money was guaranteed to go to the NHS, an ITV poll found last October.

Liberal Democrat spokesperson Cllr Dr Wendy Taylor said:

"Right now in Newcastle we are long queues in A & E, increasing pressure on hospital beds, overstretched staff and the Council struggling to give elderly people the care they need.

"The Liberal Democrats are prepared to be honest with people and say that to secure the future of the NHS we will all need to chip in a little more.

"A penny in the pound would allow us to invest in improving local NHS services and ensuring the elderly receive the care they deserve.

"This Conservative government has left our health and care services chronically underfunded - and while the crisis gets worse they just don't seem to care.

"We cannot continue asking the system to deliver more and more, without giving it the resources to do so."

Liberal Democrat Health Spokesperson and former health minister Norman Lamb (pictured with Dr Taylor) said:

"The NHS was once the envy of the world and this pledge is the first step in restoring it to where it should be.

"A penny in the pound to save the NHS is money well spent in our view.

"But simply providing more money on its own is not enough and that's why this is just the first step in our plan to protect health and care services in the long-term."