NHS and Armed Forces Highlight Labour's Budget

The UK Chancellor, Rachel Reeves, plans to allocate nearly £3 billion towards the Armed Forces in the upcoming budget, focusing on soldiers' pay raises and replenishing weapon stockpiles. This decision is part of Labour's first budget in 14 years, which also includes significant funding for the NHS to tackle longstanding issues. Despite billions being set aside for new surgical hubs and radiotherapy machines, Health Secretary Wes Streeting cautions that the funds are insufficient to resolve the NHS's crisis, especially with looming winter challenges. Streeting emphasized that while the budget aims to 'arrest the decline' in the NHS, it cannot immediately rectify over a decade of neglect. Both Reeves and Streeting acknowledge that while these measures are steps toward improvement, a single budget won't suffice to fix the systemic issues faced by the NHS. Additionally, Reeves has committed to increasing the NHS capital budget to its highest level since 2010, although concerns remain about the potential for avoidable deaths due to winter pressures.