Health dominates at the start of week two
Health, pensions and crime provided Monday’s main themes for the general election campaign.
Labour began the day by unveiling a new promise to cut waiting times from GP referral to seeing a consultant for all cases of suspected breast and bowel cancer to two weeks, and to cut waiting times for cervical smear tests to seven working days by 2008 (full story).
Speaking at Labour’s morning press conference, Prime Minister Tony Blair used the opportunity to round on the Conservatives’ spending plans. He argued that achieving these promises was only possible with continued investment in the NHS, and he accused the Tories of planning to “siphon off” funds into private healthcare.
Both the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats hit out at Labour’s plans, accusing the Government of an obsession with targets.
Conservative leader Michael Howard followed up yesterday’s announcement on new tax relief for pension contributions with an assault on Labour’s apparent reticence on the issue (full story).
Mr Howard rejected the need for compulsion to make pension contributions. Work and Pensions Secretary Alan Johnson later confirmed that there would be no major reform of the pensions system in the next Parliament.
In the afternoon, Mr Howard retaliated to Labour’s attacks on health, signing a petition recently signed by the Prime Minister calling for the NHS to be kept free at the point of use (full story).
Appearing on ITV1’s Ask the Leaders programme in the evening, Mr Howard warned that Britain could face a repeat of the 2001 race riots in Burnley and Oldham unless people had confidence in immigration controls.
Earlier in Orpington, Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy focused on law and order, promising an additional 10,000 police officers, equipped with high-tech electronic equipment, to be paid for by scrapping Labour’s identity card plans (full story).
He later told Newsnight that both he and the party were in “good shape” to meet the challenges ahead.
Monday also saw the publication of a number of smaller parties’ manifestos. Plaid Cymru (full story) and the Scottish Socialist Party (full story) launched their election programmes; while Respect turned up the heat in Bethnal Green & Bow by calling for the suspension of postal voting (full story).
