Keir Starmer vows to slash ‘bureaucratic nonsense’ in NHS

‘If we don’t get real about reform, the NHS will die,’ says Labour leader

Starmer’s pledges are an echo of New Labour’s 1997 promises (PA)

Sir Keir Starmer has vowed to get rid of “bureaucratic nonsense” with a plan to allow patients to bypass GPs and refer themselves to specialists.

The Labour leader has also formally backed his shadow health secretary Wes Streeting’s reforms, which would in effect nationalise GP services.

Labour has proposed making general practitioners salaried NHS employees, though the proposal has attracted criticism from some quarters of the medical profession.