But the Liberal Democrats say Labour's failure to tackle the problem sooner has caused suffering for many patients. The pledge card promise has been a cross to bear for four years. It has distorted priorities and meant the number of people waiting to get on waiting lists has soared. The fact is that waiting lists are still higher than when Labour came to power. Hundreds of thousands of people have suffered pain and misery because Labour woke up far too late to the need for investment in doctors and nurses.
Labour are still more obsessed with spin doctors than doctors.
Patients should believe their own experiences not Labour's fiddled figures. Labour said they would cut numbers waiting by 100,000 in their 1997 pledge card. In June 2001 there are 1,442,000. This is a reduction of 60,000. They have failed to honour their pledge.