NEARLY six in ten voters in the West Midlands trust Labour more than any other party with the future of the NHS, according to a new survey.

An even higher number think the health service has got worse in the last three years, while more than three quarters say they would be prepared to pay an extra 1p in the pound on income tax for a better-funded NHS.

The survey also reveals that 67.7 per cent of people in the West Midlands believe there should be universal access to all NHS services, while 67.0 per cent say the private sector should have no role in running the NHS.

In terms of the current state of the NHS, 50.5 per cent of survey respondents in the region say they have struggled to get a GP appointment in the last year, while 62.0 per cent said they thought NHS services had got worse since 2014.

Only 24.2 per cent said health chiefs should be allowed to continue charging for car parking at hospitals.

With health set to be a major election issue, the gap in trust between Labour and the Conservatives when it comes to which party would best protect the NHS is startling.

Given a choice of four major parties - the Tories, Labour, the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party - some 58.7 per cent of respondents in the West Midlands said they trusted Labour most with the NHS.

Only 30.3 per cent said they trusted the Conservatives most, while 5.4 per cent said the Lib Dems and 5.6 per cent the Greens.

There was also significant support in the West Midlands for the flagship Lib Dem policy of making people pay an extra 1p in the pound in income tax to raise an estimated £6 billion a year for the NHS.

Some 78.7 per cent of people in the region said they would be prepared to pay it.

The online poll was carried out by Worcester News' publisher Newsquest in partnership with Google Surveys and was completed by 8,331 people across the region.

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