Labour flip-flops on its pledge to clear the NHS waiting list despite Keir Starmer previously saying it would aim to remove the backlog during its first term in office

• Wes Streeting said that Labour would go ‘as fast and as far as we can’ to cut wait times

Labour has backtracked on its pledge to clear the NHS waiting list – despite unveiling plans to increase the number of appointments at weekends.

Sir Keir Starmer has previously said that a Labour government would aim to clear the record backlog during its first term in office.

But health spokesman Wes Streeting yesterday appeared to dump that commitment. This came as he announced plans to increase the number of evening and weekend appointments, which would be paid for by scrapping the non-dom tax status for wealthy individuals.

Mr Streeting said Labour would go ‘as fast and as far as we can’ to cut waiting times, adding: ‘I would hope that by the end of the first term of a Labour government we will have seen a serious reduction in NHS waiting lists.’

He said he was ‘not going to create a hostage to fortune’ by making a specific commitment on reducing the backlog.

Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting appeared to dump Labour’s commitment to clear the record NHS backlog, instead saying the party would ‘go as fast and as far as we can’

In October, however, Sir Keir said it was Labour’s ‘ambition’ to clear the waiting list in one term.

He said: ‘The money’s there, the plan is there, and we need to drive those waiting lists down.’

Paul Bristow, a Conservative member of the Commons health committee, branded the reversal by Labour as ‘student politics’.

Referring to Mr Streeting’s former role as president of the National Union of Students, Mr Bristow said: ‘It’s about time he realised he wants to run the NHS not the NUS.

‘The number of flip-flops Sir Keir and Wes have made is now becoming embarrassing. First, they promise to get rid of the Covid NHS waiting lists within one term of a hypothetical Labour government. The next minute they take this away.

‘They promise NHS spending from abolishing non-dom status for overseas residents. It’s arguable whether this even raises a farthing, but they are promising to splash the cash… that is why they have a huge black hole in their spending plans.’

Labour has said that it would create an additional two million NHS appointments a year at a cost of £1.1billion.

Sir Keir said the plan would be ‘fully funded’ by scrapping the non-dom tax status, which allows some wealthy individuals to avoid paying tax in this country on their overseas earnings. The number of patients waiting for treatment on the NHS soared in the wake of the Covid pandemic to more than 7.7million.

This figure has continued to grow despite a pledge by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak to cut the backlog.

Ministers have blamed industrial action by doctors and other health workers as the reason that this has not succeeded.

Labour said that more than half of hospitals close their operating theatres at weekends – causing a four-fold drop in procedures compared to those carried out on weekdays.

Mr Streeting said paying health workers for overtime at weekends could help to maximise the use of resources and cut the waiting list.

Sir Keir Starmer said that Labour’s plan to create an additional two million NHS appointments annually at a cost of £1billion would be ‘fully funded’ by scrapping the non-dom tax status

But Tory sources point out that Labour has already committed to use the non-dom cash for at least five other initiatives.

Labour has claimed that scrapping the tax break will raise £3.2billion. But the figure is heavily disputed and some experts warn it could drive away non-doms who contribute billions through paying taxes.

Labour has already said it will use the money to pay to provide enough places at breakfast clubs for every child in England.

A spokesman for the Conservative Party said: ‘Labour claim five different ideas can be ‘funded’ from scrapping one tax status – but there’s a limit to how many times even Rachel Reeves can copy and paste the same policy.’

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