Labour pledges to repeal Tory NHS bill
The Guardian today reports on a story the NEw Statesman also carried this week – that Labour is committing itself to reversing the Coalition’s ruinous NHS plans.
Andy Burnham is today reported as telling delegates at the Royal College of Midwives’s annual conference:
Labour will inherit a very different NHS – lots of damage will have already been done. And let me make it clear – if the bill in parliament goes through, we will repeal it.
…
We will return the NHS to a national system based on the principle of collaboration on which it was founded in 1948.
His pledge was met with loud applause.
He focused on specifics later:
While we would not leave in place a legislative framework that breaks up the NHS, nor would we lurch headlong into another NHS reorganisation.
But we would reinstate the Secretary of State’s powers [his duty to provide a comprehensive health service across England], remove the [planned] duty to promote autonomy of NHS organisations which is a red rag, a market-based system – and we would repeal all of the administrative stuff that creates the market [inside the NHS].
He also said it was vital that in future NHS groups which commissioned health services for local populations shared the same geographical boundaries as one local council, in order to promote the smoothest possible integration of health and social care services.
He added:
There are immediate things we would do to repeal stuff in the Bill but [then] work back to a one-NHS system, a collaborative system that’s self-supporting. And we would remove the duty to pit one hospital against another
This is a very welcome start.
It’s also about time Labour got more vocal in its opposition, although this is entirely related to Andy Burnham replacing John Healey as shadow health minister.
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Sunny Hundal is editor of LC. Also: on Twitter, at Pickled Politics and Guardian CIF.
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Reader comments
A good start but where is the five year plan for tractor production?
Good.
Labour should also announce tht it will cancel any replacement for Trident if elected. David Cameron has admitted that replacing Trident is made easier by the fact that Labour also supports it.
There is a real danger that Labour could be worth voting for at the next election.
@[1] That made me laugh on a dull day. Thank you
we would repeal all of the administrative stuff that creates the market
Hooray, just like 1997. They can then spend the next few years re-introducing it less effectively and under a different name. Just like the few years after 1997.
@4 – Really? I didn’t see Labour abolish the core principles of the NHS then.
(Again, under this bill, nobody can be brought up over the issue. He can just say “well we’re not providing that then”).
And Trident? Great, let’s fix the issue with the UNSC first.
Good! Nobody wants the kind of changes to the NHS that the tories want.
“. They can then spend the next few years re-introducing it less effectively ”
If you think lansley’s proposals create an effective internal market I can only suggest you haven’t read them.
If you think lansley’s proposals create an effective internal market I can only suggest you haven’t read them.
I have almost unbounded faith in Labour to cock things up even more. Faith backed up by experience, obviously.
@3 Thank you kind sir.
@6 You did notice that your sentence isn’t even internally consistent I take it?
@6 ‘nobody’ connotes ‘no people’. Tories aren’t real people.
@10 – Not sure if being ironic or actually a Stalinist twunt.
I have almost unbounded faith in Labour to cock things up even more.
mmmm… yeah the Tories did a brilliant job with the NHS last time didn’t they?
No wonder Ed is starting to panic – apparently, “Health secretary Andrew Lansley has pledged that nobody should wait more than 18 weeks before their local hospital is closed”.
“Lack of deterioration of service has caused an embarrassing u-turn for the coalition, who had believed their general policies would cause the natural death of the health service over time. The amount of functioning hospitals will now be closely monitored and a NHS Destruction Tsar will be appointed to trouble-shoot in areas where free medical attention persists”.
http://www.thedailymash.co.uk/news/society/government-sets-nhs-destruction-deadlines-201111184559/
At last, they took their time, I also agree with other comment they should refuse to renew Trident, and no more wars esp with Iran.
Reactions: Twitter, blogs
- Roger T Bunting
Labour pledges to repeal Tory NHS bill http://t.co/RjD9YzXs
- George Davey
"@RoyLilley: Labour pledges to repeal Tory NHS bill http://t.co/UTOGgRgl" no stability for years to come then!?
- Dr Quesh
Labour pledges to repeal Tory NHS bill http://t.co/RRWGMQmk
- xavier nalletamby
RT “@RoyLilley: Labour pledges to repeal Tory NHS bill http://t.co/7w1sjzPe” // regressive populism?
- Simon
Labour pledge to repeal Coalition's NHS Bill http://t.co/ledZtiGy Labour could win *many* votes by pledging to repeal Coalition disasters
- Beverley Dale
Labour pledge to repeal Coalition's NHS Bill http://t.co/ledZtiGy Labour could win *many* votes by pledging to repeal Coalition disasters
- Janet Graham
Labour pledges to repeal Tory NHS bill http://t.co/RjD9YzXs
- Daniel Wood
@andyburnhammp says Labour will repeal Lansley's #HealthBill! What a legend & asset Andy is to our Party! http://t.co/FZ83HoA7 @LabourHealth
- Magnus
Labour pledges to repeal Tory reforms; http://t.co/g6MPuHYn it's a very reassuring move, but still stuck for 3 1/2 years. Sorry England…
- DPWF
#Labour will repeal the #NHS bill. Good: it's a dreadful bill. But won't this involve *another* topdown reorganisation? http://t.co/BKfqmKkQ
- EmmaMitcham
Health and Social services should not be turned into a market based system: Repealing the NHS Bill http://t.co/yfvyHtet
- Nicola White
Labour pledges to repeal Tory NHS bill http://t.co/RjD9YzXs
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