Senior Tory backs tax hikes to pay for NHS spending boost

Ruth Davidson said the Tories need to be “honest” about the need for “substantial” extra cash for the health service, in a move which will pile extra pressure on Chancellor Philip Hammond to consider tax rises.

The outspoken MSP said the Government must now choose between cutting taxes further or providing the NHS with more money, warning voters “would not forgive us if we allowed this moment to pass”.

It comes after Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt said the public would be willing to pay more to help the NHS cope with the demands of an ageing and growing population.

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Prime Minister Theresa May is preparing to announce a new funding settlement for the health service to coincide with its 70th anniversary this summer.

Ms Davidson said the NHS is now at a “tipping point” and needs extra funding above and beyond increases in recent years.

In a speech at Glasgow University, she went on: “The obvious question is: where should this money come from? I have no doubt that this will be the source of major debate within our party and across Parliament over the coming months. Indeed, it has already started.

“My view is this: the UK Government has acted to reduce the tax burden on working families. It has honoured its promise to do so. Raising the income tax threshold has reduced taxes for millions of UK workers and has taken thousands out of taxation altogether.

“But the UK government has a choice to make. And, if that choice is between extra spending on the NHS or introducing further tax breaks beyond those already promised, I choose the NHS.”

Extra funding needed to avoid ‘year-round crisis’ in the NHS

Ms Davidson also renewed her attack on Mrs May’s target of getting net migration below 100,000, and called for students to be excluded from figures.

“I see neither the sense nor the need to stick to an immigration figure devised nearly a decade ago, which has never been met and does not fit the requirements of the country,” she said.

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