Lib Dems would raise taxes to fund NHS

The Liberal Democrats are prepared to raise taxes to fund an NHS ‘that meets the needs of everyone’, Tim Farron is to tell his party's annual conference.

The Liberal Democrat Leader is expected to close the conference by saying that the NHS needs to be put on a sustainable footing to save it ‘lurching from crisis to crisis’, calling for a merger of NHS and care services to ensure people ‘don't slip through the net’.

Seeing to align his party as the only alternative to a Conservative government, Farron is expected to say: “We need to face the hard truth that the NHS needs more money - a lot more money - not just to stop it lurching from crisis to crisis but so that it can meet the needs and the challenges it will face in the years ahead.”

He will add: "If the only way to fund a health service that meets the needs of everyone is to raise taxes, Liberal Democrats will raise taxes."

Farron has attracted much attention over his calls for another EU referendum, a key part of the Liberal Democrats' pitch. While insisting he respects the Brexit result, Farron is proposing a referendum on the terms of the final Brexit deal negotiated by the government.

Established party figures Vince Cable and Paddy Ashdown have voiced their concerns over such a party policy, with both warning of the risks of holding another vote.