July 9th 2025

By Ailsa Colquhoun

Lib Dem MPs sponsor rural GP EDM

Six Liberal Democrat MPs have sponsored an Early Day Motion on Investment in General Practice.

The EDM highlights chronic underfunding of general practice, specifically, failures in the GP current funding formula for rurality and age, placing additional pressure on practices in areas like West Dorset. It also urges investment in the primary care estate and extension of the Electronic Prescription Service across hospitals and community trusts.

MPs notes that 90 per cent of NHS interactions take place in general practice, but the allocation for general practice is only 6 per cent of the NHS budget.

Investment in the digital infrastructure would reduce waste, delays and duplication, and lessen the administrative burden on GPs.

Early Day Motions (EDMs) are used by MPs in the Commons to draw the attention of the House to a particular issue, event or campaign. They are rarely debated in Parliament.

The EDM sponsors are: Edward Morello (West Dorset); Wendy Chamberlain (North East Fife); Helen Maguire (Esher & Ewell); Steve Darling (Torbay); Tom Gordon (Harrogate and Knaresborough) and Jess Brown-Fuller (Chichester).

At the time of writing 14 additional MPs had signed the EDM.