Political Opinion: Jon Pearce Column: The NHS is only safe in Labour’s hands
Nearly my whole family at some time or other has worked for the NHS. It is part of who we are as a country, and it is incredibly important to me personally.
That is why I was so disturbed to see Reform UK, at their annual conference this year, choose to give a platform to an anti-vaxxer - someone who not only cast doubt on vaccines but even suggested royal family cancers might be linked to the Covid jab. Loose talk like this is dangerous enough. But let’s remember: these are people who want to run our NHS.
And when Donald Trump claimed that taking paracetamol during pregnancy might cause autism, Nigel Farage’s response was just as troubling. He didn’t defend the science. He didn’t reassure the public. He simply said, “I don’t know.” Even when it was put to him that there is no scientific evidence of any link, he put kowtowing to Trump over the safety of the British public.
Vaccination is one of the greatest achievements in human history. Smallpox, which killed millions, has been eradicated. Polio, which once left children in iron lungs and callipers, has almost disappeared. Measles, mumps and rubella are kept at bay because parents trust our NHS and take their children for the MMR jab. These gains depend not only on science, but on public confidence and leaders willing to lead.
But Reform pose an even deeper risk. Nigel Farage has said we should “look at an insurancebased system of health care.” That is a direct attack on the founding principle of the NHS: care free at the point of use, available to all.
Put these two things together - anti-vaxer crankery and questioning the core principles upon which the NHS was built - and the truth is clear. Reform are a risk to our health and our health service. They should never be allowed to get their hands on our NHS.
Labour is showing there is a better way. We set a target of two million extra NHS appointments this year - and we delivered five million. That is five million more chances for patients to see a doctor, get tests, and receive treatment faster. And the NHS has beaten its own efficiency goal, with productivity rising 2.7% last year against a 2% target. More patients treated. Better value for money. Clear evidence of improvement.
This is part of Labour’s mission: to deliver an NHS fit for the future. Modernising services, cutting the record breaking waiting lists we inherited from the Tories, and strengthening the founding principles of fairness and universality.
The NHS runs deep in my family and in our community. Reform threaten it with doubt and division. I will always defend it. The NHS is only safe in Labour’s hands.