Below is just a sample of the emails I have been receiving on the NHS and Privatization:
Dear Rt Hon Peter Lilley, John Stocker, Richard Wise, and Rachel Burgin,
Please do not encourage or continue the false assumption that the private sector can deliver care and disease management more effectively than a publicly owned and governed NHS. Competition is good in defined arenas – essential public utilities and natural monopolies are not those arenas.
For ANY private sector company to out-perform its nationalised equivalent it must be SO FANTASTIC that it can do the “day job” PLUS
– make a profit (20%)
– pay for contract administration / legals / multi-later oversight and regulation (25%)
– pay for private sector borrowing costs above UK Treasury (say another 5%)
– pay for disaster recovery for essential services (well, no private company ever does that, they are always ultimately underwritten by UK Government. Look at Hinchingbrooke Hospital or East Coast Mainline – did they simply barricade the doors and go into receivership? No. We paid to keep them running, because these services are (and should be) public essential utilities in a civilised society).
– be a bit better still, just to justify the upheaval (say 10%)
So private companies must be at least 60% better on unit costs, yet we know that 90% of their staff will be TUPEd from their old roles, and most of their inputs and outputs will be regulated. So guess what – the only way to realise the profit is to do LESS and hope you don’t get caught.
I am not against private companies per se – I run my own business and hope to make a lot of money. But I operate in a market which is not a public utility or a natural monopoly. Please don’t strong-arm neo-conservative dogma into places it doesn’t belong. It always goes wrong, and you don’t want that on your watch.
I admire sharks. I just don’t put them in my fish pond.
Yours sincerely,
Dear Rt Hon Peter Lilley, John Stocker, Richard Wise, and Rachel Burgin,
I’m concerned about the future of the NHS.
I want privatisation reversed and the NHS protected as a public service. I want the NHS properly funded, and I don’t want to see this funding creamed off by profit-making companies.
Please can you tell me where you stand on these issues, to help me decide how I’ll vote?
Yours sincerely,
Dear Rt Hon Peter Lilley, John Stocker, Richard Wise, and Rachel Burgin,
Please can you tell me where you stand on the NHS?
Do you support privatisation or would you oppose more NHS contracts going to private companies?
Do you support the squeeze on NHS funding or would you support an increase in NHS funding to guarantee it gives us a quality service?
Would you vote in favour of the TTIP trade deal with America, or would you demand safeguards to make 100% sure our health service is kept out of it?
Yours sincerely,
Dear Rt Hon Peter Lilley, John Stocker, Richard Wise, and Rachel Burgin,
I think the NHS has been let down by recent governments. I want to vote for an MP who will fight privatisation and support a well-funded, public health service. I want an MP who will also do all they can to protect the NHS from the TTIP trade deal with America.
Please could you tell me where you stand on the NHS, so I can make an informed choice when I decide how to vote?
Yours sincerely,
Dear Rt Hon Peter Lilley, John Stocker, Richard Wise, and Rachel Burgin,
I think the NHS is one of the things the UK can be most proud of. I will not vote for any politician unless I trust them to protect it.
I want an MP who will oppose future NHS contracts going to private companies. I want an MP who will fight to make sure the NHS is properly funded so we can all rely on getting quality care whenever we need it.
Where do you stand?
Yours sincerely,