NHS Bill on Friday

This is my statement in regard to the private members Bill on the NHS on Friday in parliament


The NHS is one of our greatest achievements and our most important institution. But it’s under threat from a Tory-led government which puts privatisation before patient care.

Now more than ever we need action to save our NHS. That’s why I’m backing Labour MP Clive Efford’s Bill which would scrap David Cameron’s new market framework for the NHS and ensure NHS patients will always be put first.

The NHS has never been more vulnerable than under the present government. The Tories wasted £3 billion on an unnecessary and damaging top-down NHS reorganisation. The new rules allow hospitals to earn up to 49 per cent of their income from private patients, which risks pushing NHS patients to the back of the queue. And their new competition rules force doctors to open up services to competition from the private sector.

Labour will ensure that the NHS once again puts patients before profits. We will invest the millions of pounds saved from scrapping competition red tape in ensuring people can get a GP appointment within 48 hours, or on the same day if they need it.


I have no hesitation in backing this bill as it will make sure patients in Wells Constituency are put first once again. Unfortunately the same can’t be said for our current MP. That’s why  I'm asking Tessa Munt to back the Bill and vote for it in Parliament on 21st November.

Patients in the Wells Constituency are relying on her to do the right thing by backing this Bill so that we can put an end to market forces being put at the heart of the NHS. Tessa Munt MP is fond of saying how she always puts her constituents first; its time she backed this up with action by voting for this Bill on 21st November.

The Tories haven’t just destabilised our health service; they’re holding it back from meeting the challenges of the 21st century as well. We need to pass this new Bill so we can end the creep towards NHS privatisation, bureaucracy and red-tape, and instead put patients back at the heart of the NHS . Labour will rescue the NHS with our £2.5 billion Time to Care package which will fund new staff including 20,000 more nurses – investment the Tories will not match