With the Queen’s Speech debate back in parliament today
(Wednesday), the has secured focus on the NHS
and will force a vote to rule out privatisation and any future
Trump-style deals.
In a parliamentary procedure known as a ‘regret motion’, Labour
will make the case against NHS privatisation and expose the
failings of the Conservative Government’s Queen’s Speech in
relation to the NHS. Labour will force a vote to get parliament’s
backing to bring the NHS back into the hands of the public,
specifically calling on parliament to fully protect the NHS from
all aspects of future trade agreements.
, Labour’s shadow
health secretary, said:
“The truth is that thanks to the Tory reorganisation of the NHS,
where billions of pounds of health contracts are privatised every
year, the NHS is on the table in any trade deal with Donald
Trump.
“The Tory sell-out deal will see US corporates running more NHS
services while big US pharmaceutical companies force our NHS to
pay more for vital medicines.
“Under the Tories, NHS privatisation has more than doubled. The
only way to protect our NHS is to bin the Tory privatisation
rules and restore a public NHS for all.”
Ends
Notes to Editors:
- · The debate
will take place this afternoon and will be opened by Jonathan
Ashworth and closed by , shadow international
trade secretary.
- · Labour’s
amendment to the Queens Speech expresses parliament’s regret that
the speech: “[D]oes not repeal the Health and Social Care Act
2012 to restore a publicly provided and administered National
Health Service and protect it from future trade agreements that
would allow private companies competing for services who put
profit before public health and that could restrict policy
decisions taken in the public interest.”
