‘The NHS doesn’t need warm words, it needs hard cash’

So Nick Clegg will say on Friday as he tells the Tories and Labour they will need to spend an extra £8bn a year on the National Health Service by 2020.

The Liberal Democrat leader will set out this “red line” at a speech to party supporters in Manchester.

Labour’s NHS funding plan falls £4bn short of this target – originally set by NHS England boss Simon Stevens.

The Conservatives have promised £8bn a year, but the Liberal Democrats say David Cameron’s party has failed to say how this will be funded.

Mr Clegg will say: “If you love the NHS so much, put your money where your heart is. That’s what the Liberal Democrats have done.

“We have set out exactly how we will raise every penny of the money the NHS needs to survive. We won’t allow the NHS to flat line. So this is a red line for us. A pre-condition for government.

“We won’t join a government that refuses to commit to giving the NHS the money it needs or set out how it will pay for it.”

The Liberal Democrats say they would also insist on introducing maximum waiting times for mental health services.