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Chancellor of the Exchequer Jeremy Hunt has launched an unprecedented attack on his own party, including Rishi Sunak, over the handling of the NHS.
He likened targets imposed on the NHS to Stalinist quotas and accused the Prime Minister of obstructing efforts to reduce waiting lists.
He also suggested the Conservative leadership rules should be changed to allow MPs, rather than MPs, to choose a new prime minister only if the party takes power.
He was speaking at a question and answer event in his Godalming and Ash constituency, where he is fighting to be returned as an MP.
Boundary changes mean Hunt will face a political life-or-death battle in the Surrey seat of the Liberal Democrats, potentially becoming the first Treasury Minister in history to lose a seat at an election.
The Prime Minister acknowledges he could be 1,500 votes away from a historic defeat. He has previously complained about excessive micromanagement and rationing of the NHS, but his predicament may have been the reason he was unusually frank with voters in a series of questions.
He said the failure to recruit more doctors and nurses to clear waiting lists had been thwarted when Mr Sunak was chancellor.
“When I was chairman of the Health and Social Care Select Committee, I lobbied Parliament to deliver a long-term workforce plan for the NHS, showing the science behind how many doctors we’ll need in 10, 15, 20 years’ time and making the case for us to start training them now,” Mr Hunt said.
“I tried to persuade Chancellor Rishi Sunak and he said ‘no’. Then I became Chancellor and he said ‘yes’.”
Mr Hunt suggested the Prime Minister was content to leave the costs up to the new Chancellor, a comment that was greeted with laughter.
Mr Hunt made it clear he was distancing himself from Conservative policy, later suggesting he should have backed away from the NHS targets when he had the chance.
“What I haven’t done is scrap all of the national targets, which are a bureaucratic nightmare,” he said, adding: “I should say that this is not government policy, it’s something that I happen to believe.”
“Frankly, Stalin would be proud of the target numbers for the NHS, I think that’s what’s really holding us back.”
Mr Hunt acknowledged he faces a fight until the end of his term as MP following a Liberal Democrat victory in his Godalming and Ash constituency in Surrey, and also criticised his own department, the Treasury.
He said there had been too much emphasis on breaking even at the expense of growth and that this had continued for “many years”.
Mr Hunt also suggested the Conservative leadership should not be voted on by party members, but rather decided by MPs alone while the party is in power.
The system was heavily criticised after members elected Liz Truss, who then announced a disastrous tax-cutting mini-Budget that roiled markets and led to higher interest rates.
Asked whether the rules effectively stripped people of their rights, Mr Hunt said it was difficult to “answer effectively” given that he had lost to Boris Johnson under the same system in 2019.
He continued: “But I do think the Conservative party should look at how they choose their leader, particularly when they’re in power, because I think there’s an argument that when you’re in power, elected politicians should be accountable to their electorates.”
“It’s a little bit different with political movements because I think they can make their own choices. But in government, I’m not convinced we have the best system.”
A source close to Jeremy Hunt’s local campaign said: “The failure of the previous Conservative government to introduce long term workforce planning for the NHS is not news but, as the Chancellor has pointed out many times, it is to his great credit that his Government are the first in modern history to introduce it.”
“As for his other comments, the Prime Minister was simply expressing his views honestly and openly to his constituents.”
The Conservative Party has been approached for comment.
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