BBC host Victoria Derbyshire was questioning the Labour MP on whether his party will spend more money on the NHS than the Liberal Democrats. As Lloyd Russell-Moyle said he was “not sure on the detail” of the figures, members of the audience laughed. Rachel, a business owner, then explained her reason for laughing, saying it was a “complete joke” the Labour MP did not know the figures.

Speaking from Norwich Castle, Ms Derbyshire began: “We’ve got to be clear with people. You heard at the beginning of the programme people didn’t feel they were getting straightforward information.

“Are you going to spend more money on the NHS than the Liberal Democrats, yes or no?”

Mr Russell-Moyle replied: “With NHS and social care together we will, yes.”

Sal Brinton, President of the Liberal Democrats, said: “I’m not sure on the detail of the Labour figures because there’s so much money being thrown around.”

After being asked to give the total, the Labour MP for Brighton Kemptown said he “cannot give” the “absolute total”, but knows it’s more than the Liberal Democrats “together” because “our people have checked”.

Members of the BBC audience then chuckled before one Norwich voter, Rachel, explained: “I was chuckling because that is a complete joke, not knowing his own figures.

“But please can party politics think about taking the NHS out of party politics? It needs to be a cross-party issue, with a long-term plan that they get together in a room and make a long-term plan and they stick to it.

“This is not something that should be brought up in every general election and it just should be taken out of it. That’s my opinion, as a business owner.”

Mr Russell-Moyle replied: “I can give you the figure now, I don’t have every single figure to my mind but the figure is and I’ll give you the breakdown. It’s £5.5billion for the NHS plus then £1.4billion for healthcare free at the point of use, such as prescriptions and dentistry, plus £8billion on social care.

“So that leaves £17billion plus on that package totally, all costed of which we have in our grey book.”

The debate follows Labour launching its general election manifesto on Thursday, in which Jeremy Corbyn launched an attack on Boris Johnson “preparing to sell out the NHS for a US trade deal”.

DON’T MISS

Nigel Farage declares war on BBC licence fee as he unveils party plan [VIDEO]
Furious Brexit voters lash out at Remainers in shock live BBC outburst [VIDEO]
Election 2019 LIVE: McDonnell shamed over prioritising unions [BLOG]

Speaking in Birmingham, he said: “Boris Johnson is trying to hijack Brexit to sell out our NHS and sell out working people.

“The Conservatives want to use Brexit to unleash Thatcherism on steroids, to inflict more pain on the very communities so viciously attacked by Margaret Thatcher’s government in the 1980s, to benefit the billionaires and the vested interests they represent.

“That’s why Johnson is preparing to sell out our NHS for a US trade deal that will drive up the cost of medicines and lead to the runaway privatisation of our health service. £500 million a week of NHS money – enough for 20,000 new nurses – could be handed to big drugs companies as part of a deal now being plotted in secret.”

The Labour leader added: “Labour is on your side. And there could scarcely be a clearer demonstration of that than the furious reaction of the rich and powerful.

“If the bankers, billionaires and the establishment thought we represented politics as usual, that we could be bought off, that nothing was really going to change – they wouldn’t attack us so ferociously. Why bother? But they know we mean what we say. They know we will deliver our plans, which is why they want to stop us being elected.

“They know we will go after the tax dodgers, the bad bosses and the big polluters so that everybody in our country gets a fair chance in life. That’s why they throw everything they’ve got at us. Because they’re scared of real change. Because they aren’t on your side. A third of Britain’s billionaires have donated to the Conservative Party.

“The billionaires and the super-rich, the tax dodgers, the bad bosses and the big polluters – they own the Conservative Party. But they don’t own us. They don’t own the Labour Party. The people own the Labour Party. That’s why the billionaires attack us. That’s why the billionaire-owned media makes things up about us.”

Source: Read Full Article