SOLOMON HUGHES finds the government went along with a US scheme to distract from Israel’s lethal Gaza blockade with an impractical floating pier scheme – though its own officials knew it wouldn’t work
Market methods have failed the NHS – we need investment, in-sourcing and stability of services
HELEN O'CONNOR says the Autumn Statement risks confirming a disastrous strategy that has bled the health service white
Historically the framework of that expulsion of Palestinians was predicated on the use of war as a pretext, as opposed to war as a response to Palestinian resistance, writes RAMZY BAROUD
VICTORIA HOLMES salutes the brave stand being taken by Palestine Action hunger-strikers in British prisons, and explains their demands
SYMON HILL looks at Tommy Robinson’s bid to use Christmas to spread division and hate — and reminds us that’s the opposite of Jesus’s message
CAMERON HARRISON and CJ ATKINS analyse the White House’s new strategy in detail
DENNIS BROE says media ownership is not only grossly concentrated in the US, Britain and France – new mergers are advancing the power of the rich to censor the news
THE NHS spend in 2021-22 was £152 billion but in spite of this, NHS trusts have suffered budgetary shortfalls of approximately £2bn each year since 2015. The relentless demand for efficiency savings and non-stop restructuring has led to ward closures, bed counts dropping, and services being privatised.
Over the last 10 years the NHS has lost 25,000 beds on the pretext of “care being moved into the community” but what has happened is that the public are waiting longer than ever before for care and treatment on the NHS. Eye-watering sums of public money are flowing into the private sector with minimum scrutiny, contract compliance or accountability.
Even before the pandemic struck, the “modernisation of the NHS” driven by a ruthless programme of cuts and privatisation had led to a rise in waiting lists for elective care.
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Diverting public funding to grow private-sector ‘spare capacity,’ actively undermines the funding and staff available to the NHS and results in a worse service, write JOHN PUNTIS and TONY O’SULLIVAN
