It is less than three weeks until Scotland heads to the polls and all the main political parties have now published their manifestos. VHS Policy and Public Affairs Lead, Sarah Latto, examines how their respective health commitments stack up against the VHS Manifesto for Health Creation.
As we head towards the election, the evidence is clear: a seismic shift is required to reduce health inequalities whilst continuing to offer sustainable health services. This was reflected in our Manifesto for Health Creation, published in October last year, which called for the creation of a prevention-centred system, the prioritisation of health equity, greater recognition of the essential role of the third sector, and better health measures and datasets.
‘Sticking Plasters?’
Many of the headline health pledges in the manifestos of the six main political parties are focused on reducing waiting times in acute care or addressing the ‘8am rush’ for GP appointments. SNP’s marquee health policy is the further roll out of GP walk-in clinics, Labour are committed to ‘using all available capacity’ to address waiting lists, and Conservatives have promised to guarantee a GP appointment within 48 hours. These issues undoubtedly need to be addressed, however prioritising investment in ‘sticking plaster’ policies does not address the root causes of these issues – declining healthy life expectancy and widening health inequalities.
Prevention Commitments
That said, there is also clear cross-party consensus on the need for wider system change. All six parties acknowledge the need to focus more on prevention, with Scottish Labour stating that ‘many illnesses that place demand on the NHS and reduce an individual’s quality of life are preventable’, and Reform expressing the need for ‘a shift to prevention strategy in persistent health inequalities’.
Many of the parties provide detailed commitments on how they will prioritise prevention, including the SNP commitment to introduce lung and heart health ‘MOTs’, the Lib Dems pledge to roll out a national lung cancer screening programme, and the Greens commitment to restrict the advertising of food and drinks that are high in fat, sugar, or salt. The Conservatives have also pledged to provide targeted screening for at-risk populations to catch serious conditions at an earlier stage so that they can be treated more effectively.
Community-Based Health Services
There is also cross-party support for greater promotion of community-based health services. Labour would create new neighbourhood health hubs, whilst the Liberal Democrats would support the expansion of social prescribing and increase the number of multi-disciplinary staff in GP practices and neighbourhood health teams. Reform have further committed to expand frontline services in the community and in GP surgeries. It was particularly welcome to see a specific commitment to embed Community Link Workers in every GP practice Scotland in the Greens manifesto.
Health Equity and the Right to Health
Many of the political parties have addressed the need for health equity and the right to health in their manifestos. The Conservatives identify several ways to support ‘at-risk populations’, whilst SNP and the Greens have both committed to introduce a Human Rights Bill. Labour would boost the work of the Human Rights Commission, and the Lib Dems have a specific pledge to give people living with terminal illness a legal right to palliative care.
Indeed, many of the parties have particular commitments related to palliative care, as well as greater support for people with long term or life-limiting conditions and their unpaid carers. The SNP would work with the NHS and specialist charities to expand the palliative care workforce and provide more consistent palliative care. Labour would improve palliative care training, and the Greens would establish an independent review of palliative care.
Regarding long-term conditions, Lib Dems would transform care for long Covid, ME, chronic fatigue and other similar conditions, as well as ensuring children with long-term conditions are better represented in policy. SNP have pledged to deliver a Long Term Conditions Framework for adults, and begin work on a Paediatric Long Term Conditions Framework. Similarly, Labour have identified a range of actions to support people with long-term conditions, including improving access to outpatient services and delivering a right to rehab.
For unpaid carers, Reform believe that tapering the removal of Carer Support Payment for unpaid carers will remove the ‘stark cliff edge’ faced by many unpaid carers who work, whilst the Conservatives would consolidate carer benefits payments into one larger payment. Similarly, the Greens would institute a review of Carer Support Payment, including exploring the feasibility of providing extra payments to those caring for more than one person.
Third Sector Parity
The party manifestos are less consistent regarding the role of the Third Sector. SNP, Labour, the Greens and the Libs have all pledged to deliver some form of multi-year funding for the third sector. SNP have further pledged to develop a formal agreement with the third sector, whilst Labour have committed to a ‘statutory new deal’ for the sector. Conservatives would require all third-sector organisations receiving taxpayer money to declare this fact explicitly on their website, social media and in front of parliamentary committees if they are giving evidence, whilst Reform have not provided any comment on the third sector in their manifesto. Disappointingly, none of the political parties have made any commitments to increase volunteering participation.
Data and Digital
From a health measures and data perspective, the manifestos are again a bit hit or miss. Labour have committed to modernise medical data systems to ensure they can safely be used for large-scale research, and the Greens would improve the collection of equalities data, including ‘ensuring public bodies collect reliable intersectional equalities data’. In addition, SNP would deliver the reformed National Performance Framework with a clear set of long-term, strategic national outcomes.
Finishing on a positive, all political parties are committed to delivering digital systems which empower patients to make appointments or manage their data. Lib Dems would enable patients to use the NHS app to book appointments and would require all IT systems used by the NHS to work with each other. Conservatives would deliver a “One NHS” IT platform to reduce the need for patients to repeat their medical history, and Reform would ‘embrace tech including AI and the NHS England App”.
Election and Beyond
So, if you look beyond the ‘sticking plaster’ policies in many of these manifestos, there is in fact a lot of consensus on the need to bring about systemic change in Scotland’s health system. There is also, reassuringly, a lot of alignment with our own Manifesto for Health Creation asks. We will be proactively reaching out to MSPs from all of Scotland’s political parties to prioritise health creation after the election.
What are your thoughts on the 2026 party manifestos? Get in touch with Sarah to start the conversation. If you are a VHS member and agree with our Manifesto for Health Creation asks, please sign our Open Letter to Scotland’s new MSPs. Together our voice is stronger.
Read the 2026 manifestos for Scotland’s six main political parties here:
