SNP party most committed to NHS, voters say

VOTERS believe the SNP is the party most committed to protecting the NHS, according to new polling.

A new poll has found that the SNP are the party most trusted to protect the NHS in Scotland. Picture: Greg Macvean

Nicola Sturgeon’s party achieved a rating of 7.04 from voters on a scale of one to ten on how important they consider protecting and improving the NHS to be.

This compared to Labour who are on 6.69 and the Tories who are on just 5.30 in the poll conducted by Lord Ashcroft. The Liberal Democrats fared slightly better than the Tories on 5.63, but Ukip ranked bottom on 4.61.

The health service is poised to be a key battleground in the forthcoming general election campaign amid mounting concern over the crisis in accident and emergency in Scotland and England.

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SNP MSP Bob Doris welcomed the poll findings.

He said: “Our NHS is our most valued public resource – and this poll is a welcome confirmation that the people of Scotland recognise the strong action taken by the SNP in government to protect our health service from the impact of Westminster’s cuts and privatisation agenda south of the border.

“The SNP’s record on the NHS is second to none – delivering real results on waiting times and staff numbers, introducing free prescriptions for all and protecting the NHS budget in the face of cuts passed down the line from Westminster.”

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