A brand new hospital for residents in Harlow and surrounding areas will be delivered if Labour wins the next General Election, the party has confirmed. It comes after years of waiting following the promise of a new hospital site by the Conservatives in 2019.
Princess Alexandra Hospital was part of the so-called ’40 new hospitals’ the Conservatives promised during the 2019 general election campaign. The New Hospitals Programme has since been hit by delays, and work has yet to begin on a new hospital five years on.
The project has been fully funded by the Department for Health and Social Care. No planning applications have been submitted to the local authority, however.
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On Wednesday (June 13), Keir Starmer's Labour Party confirmed that the building of the new hospital would be delivered if they were voted into power. The party's manifesto said: "It is also clear that NHS estates are in a state of disrepair after years of neglect. Labour is therefore committed to delivering the New Hospitals Programme."
The Liberal Democrats' manifesto says they would implement a ten-year plan to invest in hospitals and the primary care estate "to end the scandal of crumbling roofs, dangerous concrete and life-expired buildings". Reform UK has yet to release their manifesto.
In the Conservative Party manifesto it says the 40 new hospitals will be delivered by 2030 and the party will continue "investing proportionately more in out-of-hospital services over time".
The candidates standing for election in Harlow are Hannah Ellis (Cons.), Malcolm Featherstone (Reform UK), Yasmin Gregory (Green Party), Riad Mannan (Lib Dem.), Lois Perry (UKIP), and Chris Vince (Labour).
