The NHS - safe in Labour hands?

Yesterday evening I experienced the excitement that is the Enfield and Haringey Fabians – enjoying the hospitality of Andy Love MP. Although the turnout at the meeting was not impressive in terms of quantity, we had an interesting chat with the talkative Kevin Barron MP who was expecting to be on the Today Programme later this morning talking about a report from the Select Committee on Health (which he chairs) about NHS Deficits.

I was more than a little worried that Kevin Barron seems to think that it is a bad thing that some of those opposing NHS cuts are politically motivated. Is it a bad thing to be politically motivated? What better motivations are there?

Andy Love seems better to understand the potential consequences for MPs in marginal constituencies of the Government’s current approach to NHS “reform” – I suppose that comes of being an MP in a marginal constituency…

I fear that, on the evidence of this meeting, we have yet to convince Labour MPs of the self-evident case against private provision of our public services. Time, I think to follow advice from UNISON and go on the TUC lobby of Parliament on 23 January!