Farnham Labour members were out in force last Saturday as part of the party’s national weekend of action in defence of the NHS.

The campaigners distributed more than 1,000 leaflets in central Farnham and talked to residents about the state of the NHS, and Labour‘s plans to cut waiting lists and put patients first.

John Gaskell, Labour’s candidate for Farnham Castle ward, said: “It’s clear from the response we received that the NHS remains very dear to the hearts of voters, but people are extremely worried about its future.

“Our Tory MP, Jeremy Hunt, bears a heavy responsibility for more than a decade of chaos and underfunding of the NHS, and local people are angry about his continuing refusal to fund wage rises for nurses, paramedics and other health staff, which is among the root causes of the staff shortages and backlogs.”

The Labour Party’s campaign highlights that NHS waiting lists have trebled in the 13 years the Conservatives have been in power, with a record seven million people now waiting for treatment.

It says locally, at the Royal Surrey County Hospital, waiting times for a range of treatments, such as heart problems, geriatric referrals and breast surgery, have also reached record highs, and now stand at more than eight months.

The Labour Party says it will address these delays by doubling the number of medical school places and training 10,000 extra nurses and midwives every year, paid for by abolishing the non-dom tax exemption “being exploited by the mega rich”.