Truss called for patients to be charged for GP visits in 2009, document reveals

The Tory leadership frontrunner also wanted doctors’ pay to be slashed by 10% in a pamphlet she co-authored 13 years ago.

Tory leadership contender Liz Truss during a campaign visit to Belfast Harbour (Clodagh Kilcoyne/PA) (PA Wire)

Liz Truss called for patients to be charged to see their GP and for doctors’ pay to be slashed by 10% in a pamphlet she co-authored in 2009, the unearthed document has revealed.

The Tory leadership frontrunner also wanted to see the universal child benefit abolished in the 40-page report, which she co-wrote with six other people when she was deputy director of the Reform think tank.

TalkTV’s The News Desk reported on Thursday that the document entitled “Back to Black”, written after the financial crisis and when Labour was in government, reveals the authors’ proposals to significantly shrink the state and cut government spending.

Under a section called “Introduce user charges for GPs”, the pamphlet says: “User charges should be introduced and there should be greater reliance upon other health professionals… for treating less serious ailments”.

It claims that such fees “could save the NHS money” and “would lead to a reduction in demand, which would, in turn save the NHS the costs of providing unnecessary services”.

“Reduce the pay of doctors and NHS managers by 10%,” the report continues.

“Abolish universal child benefit. Instead child benefit should be targeted on families on low incomes…

Liz Truss’s track record shows her true colours

Labour deputy leader Angela Rayner

“Remove pensioner gimmicks, such as the winter fuel payment and free TV licences for over-75s…

“Introduce market rates for interest on student loans”.

It also calls for several major military procurement projects to be axed, including the Royal Navy’s two new aircraft carriers HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, which are described as “inappropriate defence projects” that “do not contribute to the UK’s modern defence requirements”.

During her leadership campaign, the Foreign Secretary has set out plans to grow defence spending to 3% of GDP by 2030.

It comes as Ms Truss’s rival in the race for No 10 Rishi Sunak again warned her tax-cutting plans could fan the flames of inflation and economists at the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) warned that permanent tax cuts, which Ms Truss has gone further in pledging than Mr Sunak, could “exacerbate” pressures on public spending.

They cast doubt on the “plausibility” of the promises without spending cuts after inflation soared to 10.1%, setting a new 40-year high.

Ms Truss’s campaign has been approached for comment on the 2009 report, which could hint at her ideological approach to government spending if she enters Downing Street in September.

Her campaign team told The News Desk: “Co-authoring a document does not mean that someone supports every proposal put forward.

“Liz is focused on her bold economic plan to boost growth, cut taxes and put money back into hardworking people’s pockets”.

Labour suggested the report revealed Ms Truss’s true motivations.

Angela Rayner, the opposition party’s deputy leader, said: “Liz Truss’s track record shows her true colours. She is out of touch and out of step with the public.

“The reality of her agenda is devastating cuts that risk national security, punishing patients already facing record waiting times and cutting the pay of frontline workers. Her desperate attempts to distance herself from her own views now will fool no-one.

“Liz Truss in charge would leave working people facing a cost-of living emergency with higher bills and poorer services.”

Ms Truss promoted Reform’s Back to Black report with articles in The Spectator and Conservative Home after its publication in April 2009.