OXFORD West and Abingdon MP Layla Moran has called for the Government to abandon policies which would cause harm to our health.

Eight out of 10 people say they would prefer the Government to prioritise health and wellbeing over economic growth according to a YouGov poll.

The Lib Dem MP has repeated her call on the Government to consider wellbeing metrics as well as economic ones, to abandon policies which would cause hard to our health and to introduce a New Zealand-style wellbeing budget.

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Layla Moran said: “People want the Government to prioritise health and wellbeing, and that’s no surprise. Coronavirus has caused a surge in anxiety and we face a national mental health crisis. We need to rebuild a healthy and resilient country to power economic growth.

"We can do this if people’s health and wellbeing is considered at the very highest level. In practice, this means considering wellbeing indicators and metrics alongside GDP in all Government decision making, and abandoning policies that will harm our health.

“We also need a ringfenced budget for spending on initiatives which seek to improve wellbeing. This already exists in New Zealand, where more than $1bn has been invested in children’s wellbeing, over $450m allocated for mental health workers and another $200m has been spent on survivors of domestic and sexual violence."