NHS funding must be the first priority of any Lib Dem coalition talks, demand LabourList readers

If Labour enter into coalition talks with the Liberal Democrats in the outcome of a hung parliament next year, then securing our pledge to increase NHS funding must the main priority.

That’s the message from LabourList readers in our survey this week.

Making sure that the health service has a funding increase is even more important than getting rid of the Bedroom Tax or Nick Clegg. 35% say that securing the £2.5bn worth of spending on the NHS that Ed Miliband promised in his conference speech should be a deal breaker in any coalition negotiations. Just over 21% said repealing the Bedroom Tax should be Labour’s “red line”, slightly more than thought sacking Nick Clegg should be the first demand.

14% said that raising the top rate of tax to 50p should be a focus, and 9% wanted to make sure the energy price freeze got the go ahead before making any deals.

The success of the NHS funding pledge seems to indicate that while Labour Conference (and Miliband’s speech) may have left activists feeling unenthused, the main policy announcement from Manchester is clearly very popular.

There is also likely to have been some tactical thinking behind the results: while we might have expected Bedroom Tax to receive more votes, the shift in Lib Dem positioning on the topic means that it may not need to be made the crux of a “take it or leave it” offer.

The media narrative around the different parties’ conferences does seem to reflect how LabourList readers felt they want: 44% thought the Tories had done the best from their conference, beating Labour on 30%. And the Tories lost an MP to UKIP during their conference…

22% thought that UKIP came out on top, while 4% thought the Lib Dems had the best conference, confirming our suspicions that LabourList has a small but avid following in the Deputy Prime Minister’s office.

701 people voted in the LabourList survey this week. Thanks to everyone who took part.