Speaking to the in an exclusive interview after becoming the town’s first Labour MP, Luke Murphy said the Conservatives and his predecessor Maria Miller ‘misled’ the public over funding to build a new hospital for Basingstoke. Mrs Miller, and the previous Conservative government, repeatedly assured the public and Hampshire Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (HHFT) that between £700m and £900m was secured for a new hospital. However, Mr Murphy has said this is not the case.
“The funding was never there. There was no money allocated by the treasury at any point. There are a whole series of projects that were promised and the money was not there,” he said.
He accused the local Conservatives in Basingstoke of being “complicit in the cover up”, saying they also misled the public. The town’s MP is now planning to meet with the secretary of state for health, Wes Streeting, following a review of the New Hospital Programme to find out a “realistic” timetable and finances for the project. “I’m committed to delivering a hospital,” Mr Murphy promised, adding: “I met with hospital staff and Alex Whitfield (chief executive of HHFT) last week and I really want to see it go ahead.
We have a sensible review to see the state of the finances and my job is to make sure it’s delivered as quickly as possible. “The public were told the funding was there and it wasn’t. There is a black hole in finances which was not revealed to the public before the election.
” Mr Mu.