Why the Health and Care Bill is undemocratic and a risk to the UK’s public health

Dear Parliamentarians,

We stand opposed to the Health and Care Bill, which would represent a dangerous, undemocratic and extraordinary power-grab by ministers. As the 15th Report of the Delegated Powers and Regulatory Reform Committee of the House of Lords explained:

“The Health and Care Bill is a clear and disturbing illustration of how much disguised legislation a Bill can contain and offends against the democratic principles of parliamentary scrutiny.”

If the Bill were to pass unamended, it would give ministers the powers to steer the UK’s healthcare system in any direction they chose, without further scrutiny by parliament or by the courts.

Such a concentration of power, without corresponding duties and devoid of scrutiny, would be inappropriate for any government. But given the stated motivations of this government, the risk to the health of the UK population is unacceptable.

As Sir John Major commented, “The concept that [the Cabinet] would care for the National Health Service is a rather odd one: Michael Gove wanted to privatise it; Boris wanted to charge people for using it; and Iain Duncan Smith wanted a social insurance system. The NHS is about as safe with them as a pet hamster would be with a hungry python.”

And the Health Secretary’s speech to the 2021 Conservative Party Conference on who should pay for health and social care leaves little to the imagination: “We, as citizens, have to take some responsibility for our health too. We shouldn’t always go first to the state – what kind of society would that be? Health and Social Care: it begins at home. It should be family first, then the community then the state.”

We therefore call upon MPs and Lords from all parties – from the Left, through to one-nation Conservatives – to vote against the Bill at every opportunity and in favour of any amendments that will help to preserve the NHS, as it should be, for future generations and subject to effective parliamentary oversight.

Yours faithfully,

• Stephen Fry, Actor
• Dr Julia Patterson, Chief Executive, EveryDoctor
• Lloyd Hardy, Founder, GOV2.UK
• Dr Alastair Fischer, Co-Leader, National Health Action Party
• Marcus Chown, author, journalist and National Executive Committee member of the National Health Action Party
• Anthony Johnson, Registered Nurse and Lead Organiser, Nurses United
• Mark Kieran, CEO, Open Britain
• Liz Crosbie, Project Director and Co-Founder, Reboot GB
• Dominic Minghella, Take Back Britain
• Mark E Thomas, Founder, The 99% Organisation

A message from the editor:

Thank you for reading. NationalWorld is a new national news brand, produced by a team of journalists, editors, video producers and designers who live and work across the UK. Find out more about who’s who in the team, and our editorial values. We want to start a community among our readers, so please follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, and keep the conversation going. You can also sign up to our email newsletters and get a curated selection of our best reads to your inbox every day.