Yesterday, I heard the shocking news that His Majesty The King has been diagnosed with cancer. Whilst I may be a republican, I am first and foremost a human being. I genuinely wish King Charles well and I wish him a speedy recovery.

1 in 2 of us will get cancer in our lifetime. We all know someone who has been affected by cancer. Despite the many medical advances we have made over several decades; the stark reality is that cancer can strike anyone, at any time, regardless of that person’s age, gender, race, socioeconomic status etc.

When the news was announced that the King would be having surgery for an enlarged prostate, cancer charities celebrated the silver lining from such news, announcing both a surge in donations and a huge jump in men getting their prostate checked. I’ve no doubt that many people will be more motivated to see their GP, but we have to be brutally honest. Our NHS will struggle to cope with an increase in appointments, referrals, surgeries, and courses of chemotherapy and radiotherapy. This is because the Conservatives have presided over 14 years of real terms decreases in NHS funding. We have vacancies in the many thousands, doctors and nurses underpaid, and increasing implementation of under qualified labour in the form of physician associates. Ordinary people are waiting far too long to get their cancer treatment, and those delays can be the difference between life and death.

Our two month cancer treatment guarantee is core to the Liberal Democrats 5 Year Cancer Plan. As part of our fair deal, we are seeking to put that guarantee into the statute book. Not all of us are as fortunate as His Majesty to receive the finest medical care at the click of a finger. However, as we are paying our highest tax burden in over 70 years, we should expect an improvement in our taxpayer funded healthcare. As Ed Davey said in his most recent conference speech: “Voting Conservative is bad for your health.”