As I begin, I’d like to say that I was delighted with the turnout and reception at the NHS debate in Wirksworth on Friday 27th March. When we talk about engaging people in politics, such engagement was clearly on display on Friday night. I’m also not ashamed to say that I was very nervous prior to the debate! Nevertheless, a lot was at stake in the debate; a key battle for ideas.
I’ll briefly outline the format: The debate was hosted by Professor Andy Miller, and the panellists were as follows; myself, Patrick McLouglin (Conservative), Andy Botham (Labour) and Ian Wood (Green), with the UKIP candidate Jonathan Young not in attendance. None of the panellists knew the questions beforehand, and we were all permitted a response to each question from the chair, with points from the floor raised without responses or cross-examination allowed from the panelists (mostly!). Broadly speaking, the debate was in a two hour Question Time-style format, but with little cross-examination allowed between the panellists.
Based on questions both sent in and raised from the floor, the Health and Social Care of 2012 is very clearly a bone of contention for many people. I reiterated how I opposed it at the Gateshead Spring Conference in 2012, but that the amended bill had brought improvements. Crucially, the Health Secretary remains responsible, politically and legally, to providing a free at the point of use health service. I also emphasised how our party has committed ourselves to the £8bn a year of extra funding needed by 2020 (as outlined by NHS Chief Executive Simon Stevens), but also that we need to focus on how that money is spent. I highlighted mental health as a crucial priority, noting how it affects us all in some way, and that it must be given parity with physical health.
As expected, the frustration of the night was the holier-than-thou approach from the Labour candidate, Andy Botham. For most of the night, he was playing to the crowd whilst trying to conjure up a Red Flag spirit to the evening. Incredibly, when I pressed him, he said “yes Ben, I do want to ignore the deficit…” As I said at the event, the 2012 Health and Social Care Act did not introduce competition to the health service, and the issues facing the NHS aren’t black and white; the argument cannot be reduced to the private sector question. Conveniently, Botham ignored his party’s record on PFI schemes and the privatisation of Hinchingbrooke hospital in 2009; hardly socialist policies!
The final straw was when Botham finished off another diatribe with “we (the Labour Party) own it (the NHS)”. He stands for a style which I think has poisoned politics (and I said so); a petty, insular tribalism which demonises alternative viewpoints. I insisted “the NHS belongs to the people; it does not belong to the Labour Party”, which he never really responded to. I was fortunate enough to have the final say in the debate, and I outlined how we don’t have to choose between a strong economy and a strong NHS; the NHS needs cash, but cash that isn’t plucked out of thin air. As well as increasing spending on the NHS in line with a growing economy, we would pay for it through the following means:
-Capping pensions tax relief for the richest pensioners (saving £500m)
-Aligning dividend tax with income tax for those earning more than £150,000 (saving £400m)
-Scrapping the Conservative shares for rights scheme (saving £100m)
My final line was this: “An NHS for consensus, not weaponry”.
Patrick McLoughlin didn’t really say anything controversial or ridiculous, but at that point he didn’t commit to the £8bn touted figure (the Conservatives have since pledged to meet this). Ian Wood is no doubt a very clever man, and I admire his intellect. He was a confident public speaker, but I felt that he too often went off on tangents, and the debate itself spent too long debating the issues of TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership), something which I firmly believe will have no impact on the NHS. Mr Wood’s approach would be brilliant for a lecture, but I got the impression that young people in the audience would have switched off.
I think the response from the audience was good in the end. The NHS is far too important to politicise, so it’s sad that Andy Botham was (and is) all too keen to do exactly that. I’d like to echo Nick Clegg’s words from the TV debate which followed this: “the NHS needs cash, not warm words...put your money where your heart is”.
You can watch the NHS debate in full on my website at www.benfearn.com
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