Survey shows huge support for Labour on NHS issues

An even higher number think the health service has got WORSE in the last three years, while eight in ten say they would be prepared to pay an extra 1p in the pound on income tax for a better-funded NHS.

The survey also reveals that 70.3% of people in Yorkshire and the Humber believe there should be universal access to all NHS services, while 71.6% say the private sector should have no role in running the NHS.

In terms of the current state of the NHS, 52.1% of survey respondents in the region say they have struggled to get a GP appointment in the last year, while 67.2% said they thought NHS services had got worse since 2014.

Only 29.6% said health chiefs should be allowed to continue charging for car parking at hospitals.

With health set to be a major election issue, the gap in trust between Labour and the Conservatives when it comes to which party would best protect the NHS is startling.

Given a choice of four major parties - the Tories, Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party - some 63.3% of respondents in Yorkshire and the Humber said they trusted Labour most with the NHS.

Only 23.6% said they trusted the Conservatives most, while 6.5% said the Lib Dems and 6.5% the Greens.

There was, however, significant support for the flagship Lib Dem policy of making people pay an extra 1p in the pound in income tax to raise an estimated £6bn a year for the NHS.

Some 80.4% of people in Yorkshire and the Humber said they would be prepared to pay it, compared to 10.3% who said they would not and 9.3% who did not know.

The survey was carried out in partnership with Google Surveys and completed by 8,331 people.