Tory Manifesto: Boris Johnson Pledges 50,000 More Nurses For NHS

Boris Johnson has pledged to recruit 50,000 more nurses as he put the NHS at the heart of his Tory manifesto for the 2019 general election.

The £750 million-a-year promise to boost staff numbers –  as well as a plan for 50 million more GP surgery appointments annually – was the new centrepiece of his programme for government for the next five years.

Speaking in Telford, the marginal Tory-held seat in the midlands, the prime minister set out a six-point “guarantee” that included more police, new immigration controls, climate change action and more cash for schools and science.

Johnson also promised to deliver Brexit by the end of January, bringing back to the Commons before Christmas a bill to enact his divorce deal with Brussels. 

Using cash saved from not going ahead with corporation tax cuts, the Tories will restore support to student nurses, giving them between £5,000 and £8,000 in a maintenance grant every year during their training.

New support for students will produce an extra 14,000 nurses, while 12,500 more will come from overseas and 5,000 from new nurse apprenticeships, party aides revealed.

However, the bulk of the 50,000 staff increase overall will come from better ‘retention’ of existing staff.

New measures to improve childcare for those who want to return to work and fresh training and management support will be the drivers for retention, party sources said.

They will also recruit 6,000 more GPs and 6,000 more primary care professionals such as pharmacists and physiotherapists.

The raft of commitments in the manifesto included an extra £500m a year in after-school and summer holiday childcare and a pledge not to increase income tax, National Insurance contributions or VAT.

Other key policies included axeing hospital parking charges for selected patients and NHS staff, a ban on exporting plastic waste to poor countries, half a billion pounds on fixing road potholes and £6bn on home insulattion and boiler upgrades.

In another new move, a Tory government would pass a new law to legislate to ensure rail services continue to operate even during strike action, with employers and unions forced to
enter into “minimum service agreements”.

On Brexit, the manifesto promises to bring back the Withdrawal Agreement Bill in Parliament before 25 December and to ratify the prime minister’s Brexit deal by 31 January. The Withdrawal Agreement Bill passed its Commons second reading in October.

“My early Christmas present to the nation will be to bring the Brexit bill back before the festive break, and get parliament working for the people,” Johnson said.

Paul Johnson, director of the Institute for Fiscal Studies think tank, said the Tories’ position on taxes could “come back to bite” the party as it could limit their ability to cope with pressures on the NHS from an ageing society.

“If we are going to undo austerity to any extent, we are going to need more money for the health service,” he told the BBC’s Andrew Marr show.

“At some point over the next decade we are going to have to raise taxes or accept we are going to have less in the way of public services… No party is taking that serious message to the electorate… In the Conservatives’ case they are saying, ‘Nobody needs to pay.’”