Liberal Democrats Force Vote in Parliament on St Helier Delays

Liberal Democrats force vote in Parliament on St Helier delays

• Wimbledon MP Paul Kohler joined Lib Dem colleagues in calling for vital works on St Helier Hospital.
   
• Merton Liberal Democrats are backing these calls as part of their ongoing campaign.
   
• They see Labour’s delays as a betrayal, given the years they spent campaigning locally for urgent repairs.

The Liberal Democrats used Opposition Day in Parliament - Wednesday 23rd April 2025 - to force a vote on the government’s decision to delay vital works at hospitals in the New Hospitals Programme, including St Helier Hospital.

The Labour government announced in January that plans to rebuild 40 new hospitals under the New Hospitals Programme have been delayed. Some projects have been pushed back by over a decade.

Work on repairs and new facilities in Sutton borough are not scheduled to begin until 2033 at the earliest.

The Liberal Democrat motion yesterday called on the government to reverse the delay to the New Hospital Programme and create a crumbling hospitals taskforce to bring construction dates forward. It also criticised the previous Conservative government for failing to have a realistic plan to fund the new hospitals.

Merton Liberal Democrats are backing these calls as part of their ongoing local campaign on this issue. Back in April 2023, Merton Liberal Democrat councillors backed calls for investment at St Helier hospital, including sorting the disrepair at the site, and called on Labour-run Merton Council to hold the Government and NHS to account on delivering the long overdue works.

Merton Liberal Democrats' spokesperson on health and Cannon Hill Councillor Jenifer Gould said:

“Patients in Merton and across South West London deserve safe, modern hospitals, not another decade of delays. This latest setback is a complete betrayal by Labour, who spent years campaigning locally for these essential upgrades. Now in power, their Government is failing to deliver on these commitments, just like the Conservatives before them.”

Speaking in a joint statement, Liberal Democrat MPs Paul Kohler (Wimbledon), Bobby Dean (Carshalton and Wallington), Luke Taylor (Sutton and Cheam), Helen Maguire (Epsom and Ewell) and Chris Coghlan (Dorking and Horley), said:

“For years, patients in our area have had to put up with crumbling facilities and unacceptably long A&E waits at St Helier.

“It’s clear the Conservatives made promises they couldn’t keep over St Helier. Now the Labour government has failed to deliver the change they promised and kicked the can down the road on fixing our local health services.

“The Liberal Democrats will hold the government's feet to the fire on this and put pressure on them to speed up these vital works. It is critical that we upgrade our health services so people can finally access the care they deserve.”