General election 2015: The Tories are trying to 'fund the NHS on an IOU', Labour claim
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Version 0 of 1. Labour has claimed the Conservatives are attempting to “fund the NHS on an IOU” after Chancellor George Osborne pledge of a further £8 billion by 2020. Rounding on Mr Osborne’s promise of extra funding, which the Tories have claimed will not require either tax rises or spending cuts elsewhere, Labour leader Ed Miliband said: "The NHS needs real money now, not phony promises later." NHS England chief executive Simon Stevens said £8 billion would be needed, along with £22 billion of efficiency savings, to plug the £30 billion funding hole by the end of the decade. "I want an NHS that continues to expand and improve and provide great care, that continues to save lives,” David Cameron said during a visit to his Oxfordshire constituency. The Conservative leader continued: "That's why we are making this decision today, to fund this plan in full, and we are able to do that because we have a strong economy and because we have taken the long-term decisions necessary to put the NHS first." But Mr Miliband has blasted the Tory plans, claiming the “fantasy figures” would not add up. "The bottom line is this - you can't fund the NHS from an IOU, and the British people know it," Mr Miliband told reporters in Guiselet, West Yorkshire, as his party launched their counter heath manifesto. He continued: "The truth is that you can't save the NHS if you don't know where the money is coming from. You can only damage the NHS when you are planning colossal cuts in public spending, year on year on year, which is what Tories are planning." He added: "What the Conservatives are trying to say today is 'trust us - we don't have a clue where the money is coming from, we can't tell you where a penny of it is from, but trust us'. He finished by telling reporters: "It might have worked five years ago, it ain't going to work today."
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