What has the Labour Party said about NHS waiting lists?

Understand this issue

Simulated list size and performance against the 18-week target under a variety of treatment growth rate assumptions

data item

Although performance improves in each case, in none of our scenarios does performance reach the 92% target by the end of the parliament. 

20 March 2025

Can the new government fix the NHS?

podcast

We look at the key challenges facing the NHS, and what the new government could do to tackle them.

14 August 2024

The Labour manifesto

explainer

IFS Director Paul Johnson responds to the Labour manifesto.

13 June 2024

Policy analysis

Can the government achieve its 18-week elective waiting time target?

report

Simulation modelling of NHS elective waiting times in England shows that the government’s 18-week target is unlikely to be met in this parliament.

20 March 2025

Percentage of patients waiting less than 18 weeks for elective treatment in England

data item

Performance against the NHS' 18-week waiting times target has since deteriorated gradually before a sharp fall during the pandemic.

20 March 2025

Number of patients on the elective waiting list and percentage waiting less than 18 weeks, 2007–24

data item

18-week performance has remained around 60% since 2022, despite the list size varying between 6.1 million and 7.8 million during this time. 

20 March 2025

Academic research

Multitasking, two-part contracts, and bunching: an application to doctors' tasks

working paper

The optimal design of incentive contracts critically depends on whether the tasks performed by agents are complementary or substitutable.

24 February 2025

A senior doctor like me: Gender match and occupational choice

working paper

In this paper, we estimate how the gender of supervisors early in one’s career affects subsequent choice of finely-defined occupations.

24 April 2024

The effects of pension reforms on physician labour supply: Evidence from the English NHS

working paper

We examine labour supply responses of senior doctors following a pension reform that moved NHS staff from a final salary to career average pension.

29 September 2023