The Tories still aren’t trusted on the NHS, poll finds

The Conservatives plans on the NHS haven’t done anything to persuade voters that they’re the party best for the NHS, a poll has found.

This weekend Tories announced that they would give an extra £8bn to the NHS (although they aren’t able to account for how they’d find this money, as Osborne’s interview yesterday shows). However, a YouGov poll for The Times has found that this has done little to chip away at Labour’s lead on the NHS.

43% of people asked said that they think the NHS would get worse under a Tory government, while 25% said the same about Labour. In a similar vein, 39% thought the NHS would improve under Labour but 24% didn’t agree with this.

This is an important point as the NHS is often found to be the most important election issue. This is not particularly surprising as hospitals are facing severe crises up and down the country and health care professionals are saying that it is the coalition’s policies that are partly to blame for this.

When it comes to comparing the two main parties, Labour have long been seen as the one that can be more trusted with the NHS – which was created by a Labour government. This poll shows that the Tories would need to do more than just make uncosted funding promises if they’re going to bridge this gap any time soon.