How many times have you heard it? ‘People are living longer and the NHS can’t afford to look after them.’
Or perhaps – ‘Services won’t cope for much longer because the population is ageing; we have to come up with different solutions.’
These are myths. They are used to cover up the real reason for services being cut, which have nothing to do with the fact that people are living for longer. Our fact sheet explains why. Myth of Ageing fact sheet.
The Council of the British Medical Association has agreed to support legislation which implements ‘strong and clear’ BMA policies on the NHS – which are reflected in the NHS Bill, laid before Parliament earlier this month.
On 11 March 2015, the BMA Council completed its examination of two sets of legislative proposals on the NHS set out in Private Member’s Bills before the House of Commons. The purpose of its examination was to analyse the NHS (Amended Duties and Powers) Bill, presented by Labour MP Clive Efford and supported by 11 Labour MPs (the ‘Efford Bill’, which is about to lapse in its committee stage after weeks of filibustering by Tory MPs); and the proposed NHS Reinstatement Bill subsequently presented – on 11 March 2015 – as the NHS Bill by Green MP Caroline Lucas and supported by 11 Liberal Democrat, Labour, SNP and Plaid Cymru MPs; and then to compare the provisions of these Bills with current BMA policies.
BMA Council established a large working group to identify which proposals in the Bills were in line with and would further BMA policies. In response to the reports of that working group the Council unanimously agreed to support legislation which furthers implementation of strong and clear policies of the Association concerning:
These closely reflect the principles of the NHS Bill put before Parliament and the principal points of the Campaign for the NHS Bill.
The Council also unanimously insisted that where legislation to abolish the purchaser-provider split, the internal and external market and competition involves structural changes the legislation must be implemented in a flexible and devolved way to minimize concerns about potential disruption that might result from implementation of those policies.
Professor Allyson Pollock is Professor of public health research and policy at Queen Mary, University of London; and Chair of the Campaign for the NHS Bill:
“The Representative Body and BMA Council have made themselves clear. BMA members should be writing to their parliamentary candidates to ask them to support legislation in line with BMA members’ strong and clear policies.”
Editors’ Notes
The Campaign for the NHS Reinstatement Bill is a non-partisan campaign and has a wide range of support across the political spectrum (http://www.nhsbill2015.org/our-supporters/ ). It encourages the public to contact prospective parliamentary candidates in their constituency, determine their views on the Reinstatement Bill, and gain their support for it wherever possible:
The Campaign’s press officer is Alan Taman:
07870 757 309
Labour MP Kelvin Hopkins (Luton North) co-sponsored the NHS Bill – based on the NHS Reinstatement Bill – when it was tabled in parliament on 11 March 2015.
“The NHS must be restored and remain as a free public service provided for all free at the point of need by directly employed public servants and democratically accountable to us all.
Any privatisations must be reversed and funding as a proportion of Gross Domestic Product should be increased by at least 2% in seeking to match levels of funding typically found elsewhere in Western Europe”
Kelvin Hopkins, March 2015
PLEASE NOTE: This page was written prior to the General Election in May 2015. The information below is provided for historical interest only, and refers to individuals that were MPs and candidates prior to the General Election.
On 11th March 2015, Hywel Williams MP (Plaid Cymru, Arfon) supported the presentation of the National Health Service Bill – the NHS Bill – when it was tabled in the House of Commons. The NHS Bill was based on the second version of the NHS Reinstatement Bill.
Have you contacted your parliamentary candidates yet?
You can email, tweet or write – it only takes a minute – take action here.
Please let us know their replies, you can email us at: info@nhsbill2015.org
Labour MP Katy Clark (North Ayrshire and Arran) co-sponsored the NHS Bill – based on the NHS Reinstatement Bill – when it was tabled in parliament on 11 March 2015.
“”It is vital we protect our public services from privatisation. I support the NHS Bill as a way of strengthening our National Health service and ensuring that patient need comes before private profit.”
Katy Clark, March 2015
Labour MP Chris Williamson (Derby North) co-sponsored the NHS Bill – based on the NHS Reinstatement Bill – when it was tabled in parliament on 11 March 2015.
“The NHS is one of the Labour Party’s proudest and most enduring achievements.
“We must do everything in our power to sustain, nurture and protect it from the avaricious privateers who want to use it as a cash cow to generate dividends for shareholders.
“That’s why I am proud to lend my support to the NHS Reinstatement Bill.”
Chris Williamson, March 2015
Labour MP Jeremy Corbyn (Islington North) co-sponsored the NHS Bill – based on the NHS Reinstatement Bill – when it was tabled in parliament on 11 March 2015.
“It’s our NHS. Let’s not just protect it from being further destroyed but let’s take it back and ensure it’s completely publicly run and publicly accountable. Healthcare is a human right, not a privilege.”
Jeremy Corbyn, March 2015
The NHS Bill was presented in Parliament on 11 March 2015.
Thank you to all the campaign groups and individuals that came to the House of Commons to support the NHS Bill: Keep Our NHS Public, Save Lewisham Hospital, Greenwich Keep Our NHS Public, 999 Call for the NHS, Keep our St Helier Hospital, Save our NHS – from Barts and Queen Mary’s medical school, Save our Hospitals (Ealing, Charing Cross, Hammersmith, Central Middlesex) and the National Health Action Party.
And thank you to all the MPs that supported the presentation of the Bill (and the additional MPs who attended the rally outside parliament): Caroline Lucas from the Green Party; Andrew George and John Pugh from the Liberal Democrats; Labour’s Katy Clark, Jeremy Corbyn, Roger Godsiff, Kelvin Hopkins, John McDonnell, Michael Meacher and Chris Williamson; SNP’s Stewart Hosie, Angus MacNeil, Mike Weir and Eilidh Whiteford; and Plaid Cymru’s Hywel Williams.
Co-author of the Bill, Peter Roderick answers questions about what the presentation of the NHS Bill means here but below are some pictures from the day.
11th March 2015 was a milestone for the campaign.
What happened today?
12 MPs from 5 political parties tabled the National Health Service Bill in the House Commons, based on the second version of the NHS Reinstatement Bill.
Why is that important?
It’s important because we’ve now got the Bill into Parliament with cross-party support, so it can’t be easily dismissed.
A Bill was the start of the law-making process to create the NHS, and we won’t get it back without starting that process again.
We can see you had fun standing around in the sunshine talking to MPs, but what was the point?
Yes it was fun and sunny, but the point was to let people see and know what was going on and to take heart that there are a lot of people who don’t accept the dismantling of the NHS and who are working seriously to reverse it.
What is the point in doing this at this stage in the parliamentary cycle, isn’t it all too late?
True, the Bill will fall at the end of March when Parliament closes down for the election campaign. But it’s a serious piece of proposed legislation which candidates can support during the election campaign – and as a marker for after the election against which to test government proposals.
L to R: Eilidh Whiteford MP, Mike Weir MP, Jeremy Corbyn MP, Stewart Hosie MP, Andrew George MP, Angus MacNeil MP, Caroline Lucas MP, Peter Roderick and Chris Williamson MP (hidden). Pictured with campaigners and student nurses.
Which MPs were supporting you today?
The Bill was presented by Caroline Lucas, the Green MP for Brighton Pavilion, and supported by 11 other MPs – the maximum number allowed – here’s the list:
Andrew George, Lib Dem, St Ives
John Pugh, Lib Dem, Southport
Katy Clark, Labour, North Ayrshire and Arran
Jeremy Corbyn, Labour, Islington North
Roger Godsiff, Labour, Birmingham Sparkbrook
Kelvin Hopkins, Labour, Luton North
John McDonnell, Labour, Hayes and Harlington
Michael Meacher, Labour, Oldham West and Royton
Chris Williamson, Labour, Derby North
Eilidh Whiteford, SNP, Banff and Buchan
Hywel Williams, Plaid Cymru, Arfon
That’s just a smattering of MPs, if the mainstream Labour MPs aren’t yet backing it, what chance has the Bill got?
True, but Labour’s not monolithic, there’s an election about to happen, and mainstream today is not necessarily mainstream tomorrow – its centre of gravity won’t shift if we give a depressed shrug.
Doesn’t this Bill promote another top down re-organisation?
I am sensitive to these genuine concerns, but the 2012 Act was a dismantling, not a reorganisation. The evidence of disorganisation, fragmentation and incoherence is already mounting. We want to put the NHS back together again based on its founding principles, and we’re proposing to do it with a new locally-led, bottom-up approach with the Secretary of State’s oversight to make sure it works throughout England.
John Pugh, the Liberal Democrat MP for Southport, has stated his support for the NHS Reinstatement Bill.
On 11th March 2015, John Pugh MP supported Green Party MP Caroline Lucas, when she tabled the National Health Service Bill – the NHS Bill – in the House of Commons. The NHS Bill was based on the second version of the NHS Reinstatement Bill.
The last thing the NHS needs now is yet another top down reorganisation. The NHS Reinstatement Bill provides a good basis for a better direction of travel for the NHS.
There are many risks which need to be dealt with. The public sector ethos of the NHS is at risk. The current dynamics and structures within the NHS means that the risk of fragmentation has been heightened. The private sector is camped on the front lawn of core NHS services, preying on the NHS and cherry picking its easiest and most profitable services.
These factors merely increase the risks and financial challenges, potentially resulting in further pressure to follow the market dogma and purchaser/provider environment which we believe has contributed to the present difficulties in the NHS.
The NHS Reinstatement Bill sets down a marker; a starting point for discussion and planning amongst those who care about the future of our NHS and who want the next Government to respond positively.
Joint statement by John Pugh and Andrew George MP, 11 March 2015