THE SNP have hit out at Labour after a senior Tory shadow minister backed Wes Streeting’s NHS policies.
Shadow Foreign Secretary Andrew Mitchell told PoliticsHome on Sunday that he is “very supportive” of the Health Secretary’s approach to the NHS – which has come under fire over plans to use the private sector to cut the backlog.
“I'm very supportive of what Wes Streeting is saying about the need to look at the structures and improve the structures of the NHS,” Mitchell said.
“The Conservative government put a lot of money into the NHS, the record is there for all to see. We should say to the Labour Party, if you're going to look fundamentally at the National Health Service and how it should change, we won't oppose just for the sake of opposing.
“We will give you a fair wind to come up with your proposals and we will judge them accordingly. I'm not one of those who is seeking to attack Wes Streeting or the Labour Party on the NHS.”
"With the Labour Party copying the Tories' austerity cuts, Brexit and creeping NHS privatisation, it's no surprise that senior Tory figures back Wes Streeting,” she said.
"By opening the NHS up to private sector interests and imposing Tory spending cuts the Labour Party is threatening Scotland's NHS. As Wes Streeting admits - Westminster policies are actively damaging Scotland's NHS.
Haughey added: "In stark contrast, the SNP will always prioritise the NHS and defend its founding values. NHS funding has more than doubled under the SNP government and NHS staffing is at a record high – with far more doctors and nurses per head in Scotland than in England."
"Under the SNP, the NHS in Scotland will always be safe in public hands."
