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.

Reader comments

1. Roger T Bunting

   Labour pledges to repeal Tory NHS bill http://t.co/RjD9YzXs

2. George Davey

   "@RoyLilley: Labour pledges to repeal Tory NHS bill http://t.co/UTOGgRgl" no stability for years to come then!?

3. Dr Quesh

   Labour pledges to repeal Tory NHS bill http://t.co/RRWGMQmk

4. xavier nalletamby

   RT “@RoyLilley: Labour pledges to repeal Tory NHS bill http://t.co/7w1sjzPe” // regressive populism?

5. Simon

   Labour pledge to repeal Coalition's NHS Bill http://t.co/ledZtiGy Labour could win *many* votes by pledging to repeal Coalition disasters

6. 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

7. Janet Graham

   Labour pledges to repeal Tory NHS bill http://t.co/RjD9YzXs

8. Daniel Wood

   @andyburnhammp says Labour will repeal Lansley's #HealthBill! What a legend & asset Andy is to our Party! http://t.co/FZ83HoA7 @LabourHealth

9. 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…

10. 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

11. EmmaMitcham

    Health and Social services should not be turned into a market based system: Repealing the NHS Bill http://t.co/yfvyHtet

12. Nicola White

    Labour pledges to repeal Tory NHS bill http://t.co/RjD9YzXs

13. Lauren Pang

    I will be voting to repeal the NHS Bill by voting Labour http://t.co/BFCYRNO3

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