I CAN’T be the only person who’s feeling extremely worried about the future of our NHS.
Conservative MPs have voted down an amendment to the government’s trade bill to prevent the NHS being sold off or undermined by the government’s trade deals with other countries.
The House of Lords had last month inserted a clause banning any agreement that ‘undermines or restricts’ the UK’s ability to provide ‘a comprehensive publicly funded health service free at the point of delivery’.
The amendment also restricted ‘the sale of patient data’ and the government’s ability to control drug prices.
The governing party’s MPs were the only ones to vote against these protections.
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Trade Minister Greg Hands even said there was no need to protect the health service with legislation because ‘the NHS is not and never will be for sale’.
However, this government is asking us to trust them yet again, even as they consider watering down workers’ rights and protections after Brexit which they promised not to do.
Why should we trust them when Dominic Raab (First Secretary of State) reluctantly admits to co-authoring a pamphlet advocating increased privatisation of the NHS?
Why should they all disagree with this amendment if they have every intention of protecting the NHS? It rings very hollow to me.
HEATHER WILLIAMS
Knapp
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