Campaign news

Kick out the Tories. Get the Labour Vote out on May 7th

6th May 2015

Kick out the Tories. Get the Labour Vote out on May 7th

Recent Letters to the Guardian

Only Labour is Able to protect our Future

Polly Toynbee (The powerful invisibles at the heart of the Tory party, 5 May) refers to the “deep chasm” that divides our society. The consequences of that chasm in my community are profoundly distressing. I never thought I would see shanties being erected or families staying in sheds and garages just to put a roof over their children’s heads. I didn’t think that people would be going hungry or would have to rely on charity to eat, but so many in my town now do. And how wrong I was when I believed the days of landlords evicting families to increase the rent or for simply complaining about the damp were over.

I fear for our people if Cameron gets back in, especially in alliance with Ukip. Nothing and nobody but the rich will be safe. There is nothing they won’t sell, nothing they won’t cut, and nobody they won’t scapegoat, no matter what harm they cause to even the most vulnerable in our society. As a minimum safeguard we have to ensure Labour is at least the largest party.

From the socialist left in Labour I beg disaffected Labour voters to come home to Labour. Others, especially new young voters, I urge to stand with us in protecting a new generation against the barbarity of a Conservative/Ukip future.
John McDonnell

Chair, Socialist Campaign Group

Support the Bill to Reinstate the HS

On 11 March, the NHS bill 2015 was presented in parliament with cross-party support. Its policies would comprehensively reinstate the NHS throughout England. The bill’s policies restore the secretary of state for health’s duty to provide universal listed health services throughout England based on people’s needs and not their ability to pay. The bill abolishes the expensive internal and external market, stops the break up of the NHS and returns the NHS to public control and accountability. This is vital to protect the NHS from EU trade treaties and others in the pipeline like the TTIP.
It will end the high costs to the NHS of PFI schemes. By making PFI debts a Treasury responsibility, it removes the exorbitant costs of PFI from the NHS and enables the state to negotiate restoration of PFI services and assets into public ownership. The British Medical Association, representing 150,000 doctors, has stated publicly that its members want a publicly funded and publicly provided National HealthService. It supports the principles behind the legislation which the NHS bill proposes.

Many MPs and parliamentary candidates and some political parties now support the Bill. We urge the public to support the NHS bill 2015 and to ensure that their parliamentary candidates now commit to supporting the reinstatement of the NHS through the bill, and to ensuring it is in the first Queen’s speech after the election.

Joanna Adams Founder, 999 Call For The NHS campaign group
Dr Jackie Applebee GP, chair, Tower Hamlets BMA
Lady Joan Bakewell Broadcaster & writer
Alan Bennett Author
Natalie Bennett Leader, Green party
Dr Naureen Bhatti GP, Limehouse
Dr Kambiz Boomla Ex-chair, City & East London Medical Committee
William Boyd Author
Lord Melvyn Bragg Author and broadcaster
Sandra Carey Midwife
Janet Chadwick Nurse practitioner
Marcus Chown Author, journalist & broadcaster
Ben Clements Community mental health nurse
Dr Liz Davies Reader in Child Protection
Dr Robert Delamont Consultant neurologist
Dolmen Domikles Mental health worker, Sussex NHS Foundation Trust
Fiona Duby International health & development consultant
Dr Paul Evans Director, NHS Support Federation
Sir Richard Eyre Film, TV, theatre & opera director
Craig Farlow ‘300-miler’, 999 People’s Jarrow March 2014
Dr Richard Fielding Professor, medical psychology in public health
Joe Finlayson Community mental health nurse
Dr Peter Fisher President, Doctors for the NHS
Shirley Franklin Defend Whittington Hospital Coalition
Dr Patrick French Doctors For The NHS
Dr Wendy Geraghty Lead clinician, Lewisham CAMHS
Dr Bob Gill GP, National Health Action Party
Roger Graef TV/film producer & director
Jacqueline Gruhn Commissioner, adult care
Alun Hamnett Senior technical officer, blood & transplant
Earl of Harewood Film & theatre producer
Paul Hardman Paramedic
Jean Hay-Burns Psychotherapist
Carolyn Heads Quality & HR manager
John Hilary Executive director, War on Want
Dr Kate Hudson General Secretary, CND
Christine Hyde Retired, ‘300-miler’
Dr Bridget Innes Out-of-hours GP
Dr Louise Irvine Chair, Save Lewisham Hospital campaign
Dr Coral Jones GP, Hackney and TTIP activist
Ben Judd Team manager, AWP NHS Trust
Linda Kaucher StopTTIP
Dr Jeremiah Kelly Researcher
Lady Helena Kennedy Barrister
Neshane Kunanathan Biomedical scientist
Dr Alan Lawlor Chemist
Dr Anna Livingstone GP, CCG clinical lead Tower Hamlets
Ken Loach Filmmaker
Professor Rajan Madhok Retired NHS Medical Director, ‘300-miler’
John McCarthy Writer & broadcaster
Sir Jonathan Miller Theatre & opera director
Sienna Miller Actor
Caroline Molloy Editor, OurNHS openDemocracy
Michael Morpurgo Writer, co-founder Farms for City Children
Clare Morpurgo Co-founder, Farms for City Children
Anita Nuckhir Occupational therapist
Dr Katherine Oliver General manager
Dr Tony O’Sullivan Lewisham consultant paediatrician
Lord David Owen Former Health Minister & neurologist
Janet Patrick Children’s social care expert
Clive Peedell Co-leader, National Health Action Party
Peter Pinkney President, RMT Union
Professor Allyson Pollock Professor of public health research & policy
Alexandra Pringle Group editor-in-chief, Bloomsbury Publishing
Jonathan Pryce Actor
Sir Steven Redgrave Five-times Olympic Gold medal oarsman
Professor Chris Redman Professor emeritus of obstetric medicine
Professor Sue Richards Co-Chair, Keep Our NHS Public (KONP)
Dr Adam Riley Consultant
Peter Roderick Barrister, drafter of NHS bill
Dr Hermione Roy Consultant child & adolescent psychiatrist
Dr Helen Salisbury GP
Professor Wendy Savage President, Keep Our NHS Public (KONP)
Dr Alex Scott-Samuel Joint chair, Politics of Health Group
Dr Ron Singer Chair, doctors’ section of Unite
David Skidmore A&E nurse
Annie Smedley Senior OT, NHS
Stephen Smith Ambulance EMT2
Clive Stafford Smith International human rights lawyer
Rick Stroud Author & film director
Dr Richard Walshaw Scientist
Dr Eric Watts Chair, Doctors for the NHS
Dr Charles Webster Official historian of the