Labour's parliamentary candidate for Brentford and Isleworth has backed Ed Miliband's plans for a huge NHS cash injection funded by a so-called 'mansion tax'.
The Labour Party leader yesterday announced his intention to invest £2.5 billion to 'save and transform' the NHS by 2020, employing an extra 36,000 doctors, nurses, midwives and carers.
He said the extra spending would be paid for by a levy on homes worth more than £2 million and a tax on tobacco firms, among other measures, should Labour win next year's general election.
Ruth Cadbury, who will take on Conservative MP Mary Macleod in Brentford and Isleworth next May, welcomed the pledges made at the party conference.
"Creating a truly world class NHS by investing in more nurses and GPs will benefit local people, who are often waiting too long for appointments," she said.
"We need to protect the NHS so it continues to be the envy of the world and is there when you need it."
Ms Cadbury also praised Mr Miliband's commitment to boost the minimum wage to £8 an hour, more than double the number of first-time home-buyers and increase the number of apprenticeships.
Her support for the NHS is unlikely to lose her any voters but the mansion tax could prove more divisive, with the average price of a detached home in Chiswick falling just under the threshold at £1.9 million, according to the property website Rightmove.
"I think it's right that those who are better off should pay to support those who are poorer. We need to find the funding to protect the NHS and a mansion tax is one way of doing that," she said.
"If someone's living in a large home on a low income we need to address the council tax support system to ensure they're not penalised."
