Why has the Welsh NHS become a general election football?

The NHS – short for National Health Service – was established in 1948.

The former Labour health minister, Tredegar MP Aneurin Bevan, is considered to be the person who led the way in its creation.

Bevan was inspired by an insurance scheme in his hometown of Tredegar where workers pooled a proportion of their pay to cover the costs of healthcare for themselves and their families.

In 1969, legislation was passed that separated the Welsh NHS from the English NHS, and it was put under the control of a separate UK government department – the Welsh Office.

This meant the Welsh NHS had more control over how it worked and, in theory, more room to make distinct Welsh policies – although the ministers in charge would always be from the party that formed the UK government.