The Tories’ much publicised promise to increase NHS funding is simply not worth the paper it is written on, and cannot be trusted.

The reality is that this Tory Government is presiding over a recruitment, retention and resourcing crisis in our NHS.

Health authorities in St Helens have been forced to spend FOUR TIMES more on agency nurses than in 2010.This is a direct result of the Government’s mismanagement of our NHS. Instead of taking action to help hospitals reduce bills and hire more nurses, the Government has scrapped student nurse bursaries – meaning nursing applications dropped by a quarter in 2017.

Our hardworking NHS staff and local patients deserve a properly funded health service.