“To win the next election, Labour must fix the NHS” - Good Growth Foundation
New polling released today by the Good Growth Foundation shows that fixing the NHS is Labour’s essential route to recovery and re-election, far outweighing economic concerns in voters’ minds.
The NHS isn’t just a top public priority - it’s Labour’s pathway to rebuilding trust and winning back voters, especially those who have switched away from the party and are now considering voting for Reform (Labour-Reform switchers).
80% of Britons believe the NHS "needs to change in order to survive", with overwhelming public backing for reform, digital innovation, and a shift toward prevention-focused care. 87% of Labour-Reform switchers think so.
Confidence in the current system is shaky: 71% are worried people will have to pay for NHS services in the future, and only 20% believe the NHS will remain universally free. For Labour-Reform switchers, 77% are worried about this and only 14% think services will remain free.
When asked about healthcare funding, the majority (55%) support free care at the point of delivery, funded through taxes. Only a third (33%) support a Farage-style system featuring a combination of free and insurance-based care, while 7% favor mainly private insurance. Five percent were undecided. Labour-Reform switchers agree, with 54%, 32% and 11% respectively.
The NHS: Labour’s Political Keystone
Cutting NHS waiting times is the highest-ranked national goal across all voters (average rank 2.2), surpassing better pay for working people, policing, schools, and housing. This holds true for Labour-Reform switchers as well.
40% say a better NHS would improve their lives most - double those who chose a stronger economy (20%) (38% & 22% respectively for Lab-Ref switchers).
When asked about government priorities over the next decade, a better NHS tops the list at, beating the economy and jobs and crime. Among Labour-Reform switchers - a critical voting bloc - the NHS ranks second, just behind immigration, and well ahead of the economy.
While immigration remains an important issue for Labour-Reform switchers, the NHS closely follows, showing that Labour’s health reforms resonate strongly across voter groups. This confirms that the NHS is not only a public concern but a political imperative for Labour’s comeback.
Real Change on the Ground: Popular NHS Reforms
Labour’s focus on community care, digital innovation, obesity prevention, and vaccine rollouts reflects exactly what people want.
A majority (58%) say investment should prioritise local NHS services like clinics and GP surgeries, even if it means less funding for hospitals. Even more Labour - Reform switchers (64%) agree.
The preference is clear: 45% want to be treated at GP surgeries for non-urgent issues, well above hospitals (5%). (36% Lab-Ref switchers, 9% hospitals)
Voters also support more care at home, as set out in the ten-year plan. 81% of voters and 80% of Lab-Ref switchers support the NHS offering home visits.
On prevention:
46% support prescribing weight-loss drugs for obesity (47% for Lab-Reform)
66% believe these drugs would support healthier lifestyle choices or have no negative impact (75% for Lab - Reform).
On AI:
42% trust AI to provide health advice directly to patients via apps or chatbots and
44% trust it to assist clinicians with diagnostics and treatment - showing growing public comfort with tools like the NHS app, which the Health Secretary has proposed expanding with AI-powered advice.
Praful Nargund, Good Growth Foundation Director, said:
“Fixing the NHS is Labour’s path to recovery. It’s not just good policy - it’s the route to winning the next election. From endless GP call queues to hours waiting for an ambulance, people are feeling the cracks in the system every day. Voters are crying out for change that they can actually feel: faster access to GP appointments, care closer to home, and a system that works before it’s too late - for the voters and for the NHS. Labour’s future rests on whether it can deliver. If the party gets this right, it doesn’t just rebuild the NHS - it rebuilds trust, and wins back the voters it’s losing.”