Protecting our NHS from trade deals and increasing privatisation
(Motion to LRC AGM 05.09.20 From LRC Oxfordshire)
Conference notes
For over seventy years our National Health Service has stood as an enduring example of what a caring, compassionate and socialist society can look like.
Conference deplores
Despite millions of people expressing their solidarity with NHS workers during the C-19 crisis, the forces lined up against our NHS at its creation are back at work in force, supported and encouraged by a Tory government made up of hard-line free-market ideologues:
Boris Johnson, is pursuing a US “trade deal” with exploitative US pharmaceutical giants that could open up the NHS and its patients to American-style price gouging for basic medicines.
The Tories have left nurses and other health care staff out of a public sector pay deal after hundreds of them lost their lives in service to patients during this pandemic, despite having had to cope with pay that has decreased in real terms over the past ten years.
The Covid pandemic has led to an increased rate of privatisation without proper scrutiny and has resulted in billions of pounds of public money being paid out to disgraced private firms, often close to ministers or those making the decisions to award contracts.
This follows 10 years of underfunding, undermining, piece-by-piece privatisation and fragmentation of our National Health Service by previous Tory governments, which is set to continue and worsen.
If we are going to stop this wilful and irresponsible destruction we need to wage an inclusive, collaborative and sustained campaign to save our National Health Service and ensure our social care system is fit for purpose.
Conference welcomes
The recent 10-point plan from Richard Burgon, in particular the section on the NHS that states: “On the Left we need to fight for our NHS to be properly funded – not least to deal with coming waves of coronavirus – and win the argument for NHS privatisation to be halted and reversed and pay rises for all NHS staff. As well as campaigning to prevent our NHS being part of any negotiations for a trade deal with the USA, we must step up the call for the full repeal of the Health and Social Care Act 2012. Our privatised, inadequate social care system, where private equity and hedge funds play a significant role, must be replaced by a National Care Service based upon the same principles as those which founded our NHS and where the staff are paid decent salaries worthy of the vital work they do.”
Conference resolves
That the LRC should work closely with established and successful NHS campaign groups (as Jeremy Corbyn suggests in this video on the subject of NHS and trade deals) forging links with Keep Our NHS Public (KONP) at a national level and encouraging LRC members to work with and support local KONP groups.
That the LRC works closely with our own trade union affiliates to support NHS campaigning by KONP, We Own It, War On Want and other groups working in collaboration.
That the LRC approaches Unison and Unite, both directly through branches and through Health Campaigns Together TU liaison group, to express our support for Richard Burgon’s demands.
Amendment as follows:
Under: Conference notes
Delete:
For over seventy years our National Health Service has stood as an enduring example of what a caring, compassionate and socialist society can look like
and replace with:
Despite adverse policy changes, our National Health Service has to date stood as an enduring example of a caring, compassionate and socialist society.
Under: Conference deplores
After ... C-19 crisis delete all to ideologues and insert
a healthcare Americanisation project begun by Thatcher continues apace, supported by a restored cross-party consensus:
Only under shadow health secretary Diane Abbott did Labour begin to oppose the move (then called “STPs”). Only a strong Labour left movement can defend our NHS from a project that the Labour right remains committed to.
In first bullet point delete all and insert:
Boris Johnson is about to enshrine in law a US system to pay people to take away our NHS so we go private.
The purpose, here as in the US, is to expose us to, and thus grow the private market.
Johnson’s legislation would complete a project initiated by Thatcher’s US-inspired ‘internal market’, expanded by every government since, including New Labour, working closely with US corporations throughout.
Despite Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership and years of explicit conference decisions to the contrary, our current shadow health team still supports this US-imported system.
This is what would be sealed-in by Johnson’s pursuit of a US “trade deal” while exploitative US pharmaceutical giants could also open us up to American-style price gouging for basic medicines.
Insert at beginning of what is now bullet point 6
As part of this process, which empowers profit over people
In new bullet 7 delete
The Covid pandemic has led to an increased rate of privatisation without proper scrutiny and has resulted in billions of pounds of public money being paid out to disgraced private firms, often close to ministers or those making the decisions to award contracts
And insert:
The Covid pandemic has been used to increase the rate of privatisation without proper scrutiny, resulting in billions of pounds of public money paid out to disgraced private firms, often close to ministers or those making the decisions to award contracts. Contracting to mates (“preferred providers”[1]) without tender is set to be part of the new law.
Under bullet point 8 delete
This follows 10 years of underfunding, undermining, piece-by-piece privatisation and fragmentation of our National Health Service by previous Tory governments, which is set to continue and worsen.
And insert
This follows in particular 6 years of restructuring towards the US model by the NHS England quango. This, continuing the direction set by previous governments, is behind hospital, GP surgery and bed cuts, piece-by-piece privatisation. All has worked towards the specific system now set to be enshrined in law (see point 1 above).
Under new bullet 9 delete
If we are going to stop this wilful and irresponsible destruction we need to wage an inclusive, collaborative and sustained campaign to save our National Health Service and ensure our social care system is fit for purpose.
And insert
Stopping this wilful, mercenary destruction needs a sharply-focused, educational, inclusive, collaborative and sustained campaign to retrieve our National Health Service, in law, from this profiteering system, ensuring social care is social, not commercial.
Under Conference welcomes
After “we must step up the call for the full repeal of the Health and Social Care Act 2012.”
Insert “[plus the Long-Term Plan and all previous Americanisation]
Under Conference resolves
Delete: That the LRC should work closely with established and successful NHS campaign groups (as Jeremy Corbyn suggests in this video on the subject of NHS and trade deals) forging links with Keep Our NHS Public (KONP) at a national level and encouraging LRC members to work with and support local KONP groups.
Insert: · As Jeremy Corbyn suggests in this video, the LRC will coordinate with other campaigns on this specific issue – locally through Keep Our NHS Public (KONP) and similar groups, as well as nationally, alongside Red Labour, the left of the Socialist Health Association (SHA) and the NHS (Reinstatement) Bill campaign. Explicitly linking local attacks on our NHS to relevant national policy (e.g. tracing back a local A&E closure to the national A&E closures scheme embodied in the Tories’ destructive ‘Long Term Plan’ for the NHS
[1] You may recognize “preferred providers” as contracts for mates has long been Labour’s position too.
Submitted by:
Nicholas Csergo, Diane Jones, Pamela Karantonis, Sohayalla Wilson, Terry Conway, Ben Sellers, Sam Pritchard, Dave Gernon, Gwynne Reddick, Norman Wood
If amendment carried the motion would read:
Conference notes
Despite adverse policy changes, our National Health Service has to date stood as an enduring example of a caring, compassionate and socialist society.
Conference deplores
Despite millions of people expressing their solidarity with NHS workers during the C-19 crisis, a healthcare Americanisation project begun by Thatcher continues apace, supported by a restored cross-party consensus:
Only under shadow health secretary Diane Abbott did Labour begin to oppose the move (then called “STPs”). Only a strong Labour left movement can defend our NHS from a project that the Labour right remains committed to.
Boris Johnson is about to enshrine in law a US system to pay people to take away our NHS so we go private.
The purpose, here as in the US, is to expose us to, and thus grow the private market.
Johnson’s legislation would complete a project initiated by Thatcher’s US-inspired ‘internal market’, expanded by every government since, including New Labour, working closely with US corporations throughout.
Despite Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership and years of explicit conference decisions to the contrary, our current shadow health team still supports this US-imported system.
This is what would be sealed-in by Johnson’s pursuit of a US “trade deal” while exploitative US pharmaceutical giants could also open us up to American-style price gouging for basic medicines.
As part of this process, which empowers profit over people, the Tories have left nurses and other health care staff out of a public sector pay deal after hundreds of them lost their lives in service to patients during this pandemic, despite having had to cope with real terms pay decreases over the past ten years.
The Covid pandemic has been used to increase the rate of privatisation without proper scrutiny, resulting in billions of pounds of public money paid out to disgraced private firms, often close to ministers or those making the decisions to award contracts. Contracting to mates (“preferred providers”[1]) without tender is set to be part of the new law.
This follows in particular 6 years of restructuring towards the US model by the NHS England quango. This, continuing the direction set by previous governments, is behind hospital, GP surgery and bed cuts, piece-by-piece privatisation. All has worked towards the specific system now set to be enshrined in law (see point 1 above).
Stopping this wilful, mercenary destruction needs a sharply-focused, educational, inclusive, collaborative and sustained campaign to retrieve our National Health Service, in law, from this profiteering system, ensuring social care is social, not commercial.
Conference welcomes
The recent 10-point plan from Richard Burgon, in particular the section on the NHS that states: “Millions of people showed their solidarity with the NHS during this crisis. On the Left we need to build on this, fight for our NHS to be properly funded – not least to deal with coming waves of coronavirus – and win the argument for NHS privatisation to be halted and reversed and pay rises for all NHS staff. As well as campaigning to prevent our NHS being part of any negotiations for a trade deal with the USA, we must step up the call for the full repeal of the Health and Social Care Act 2012 [plus the Long-Term Plan and all previous Americanisation]. Our privatised, inadequate social care system, where private equity and hedge funds play a significant role, must be replaced by a National Care Service based upon the same principles as those which founded our NHS and where the staff are paid decent salaries worthy of the vital work they do.[2]”
Conference resolves
• As Jeremy Corbyn suggests in this video, the LRC will coordinate with other campaigns on this specific issue – locally through Keep Our NHS Public (KONP) and similar groups, as well as nationally, alongside Red Labour, the left of the Socialist Health Association (SHA) and the NHS (Reinstatement) Bill campaign. Explicitly linking local attacks on our NHS to relevant national policy (e.g. tracing back a local A&E closure to the national A&E closures scheme embodied in the Tories’ destructive ‘Long Term Plan’ for the NHS
• That the LRC works closely with our own trade union affiliates to support NHS campaigning by KONP, We Own It, War On Want and other groups working in collaboration.
• That the LRC approaches Unison and Unite, both directly through branches and through Health Campaigns Together TU liaison group, to express our support for Richard Burgon’s demands.
[1] You may recognize “preferred providers” as contracts for mates has long been Labour’s position too.
[2] Throughout the Corbyn years, the shadow social care minister resisted any suggestion of publicly-provided social care. Such a thing would defeat the purpose of the US system now to be legalised, which (see link above) has remained Labour policy despite conference and Corbyn.