PMQs: Miliband and Cameron clash over NHS reforms
Ed Miliband has attacked David Cameron’s “broken promises” on the NHS in this week’s prime minister’s questions.
Mr Cameron turned on Mr Miliband’s “pre-scripted lines” after the Labour leader asked him whether the government could maintain the hospital waiting times guarantee introduced by the Labour government.
Addressing a packed Commons, Mr Cameron was told by the leader of the opposition that his plans to introduce GP consortia were “taking the national out of the National Health Service”.
The prime minister replied that “waiting times will rise if we stop putting the money into the NHS”, highlighting Labour’s refusal to ringfence NHS spending in its 2010 general election manifesto.
Review our live coverage of PMQs as-it-happened here
“He obviously hasn’t noticed. People aren’t convinced by his own reforms,” Mr Miliband replied.
“Just like on every other issue we get broken promises from this prime minister… he’s breaking his promise to put patients first. It’s the same old story – you can’t trust the Tories on the NHS.”
Mr Cameron said he wanted to address Britain’s “Victorian” health inequalities by raising outcomes to European standards.
Read our sketch of this week’s PMQs here
But he resorted to personal attacks on Mr Miliband’s “pre-scripted lines” as opposition backbenchers jeered at his arguments.
“He practises them every week. I’m sure they sound fantastic in the bathroom mirror,” the prime minister said, to cheers from Tory MPs.
The exchanges come before the government publishes its draft bill on NHS reform later today.
The legislation will put in place the measures proposed last summer in the NHS white paper, which will place GP consortia in charge of commissioning services and treatments in a bid to create a market dynamic.
