Don't blame us for Stafford Hospital says Labour's Ed Balls

The Tories frequently flag up that it was under the former Labour government that hundreds of people died from poor care at the hospital, which has since been subjected to a major downgrade following two public inquiries.

But on a visit to Cannock Chase - his second in four months - Mr Balls said Conservative cuts had added to the pressure on A&E departments because they had reduced the social care budget, resulting in more people seeking hospital care.

In a wide-ranging interview with the Express & Star he called for a new wave of apprentices and the creation of a Midlands powerhouse to rival the north in terms of devolution and support for transport, skills and growth.

After speaking to students at South Staffordshire College's Progress Centre he said he could not promise that Labour would reverse the controversial downgrade at Stafford, which has seen people forced to go for treatment in Wolverhampton, Walsall and Stoke-on-Trent - all of which have hospitals that have failed to meet A&E waiting targets due to sheer numbers of patients.

Mr Balls said: "The NHS is a huge organisation and there's lots of dedicated doctors and nurses and care workers in it and sometimes things go wrong.

"And the Tory idea that somehow what happened in Stafford was indicative of what was happening across the country or the result of a Labour government, I think that's party political propaganda nonsense.

"What happened in Stafford was unacceptable but it's not what happened in Wakefield, Leeds, Peterborough or other places.

"There were big mistakes and lessons have been learned in Stafford. What we've learned is you have to put in more resources and back that with the right reforms."