Andy Burnham’s leadership will be judged on whether he charts a genuinely different course, argues BECK ROBERTSON
NHS workers must strike now or the attacks will only get worse
It is time for all NHS staff in all unions, especially nurses, to vote Yes to industrial action during this ballot period, or further 'restructuring,’ marketisation and degradation of our health service will follow, writes HELEN O’CONNOR
NHS workers march from St Thomas' Hospital to Downing Street, London, to demand a pay rise. Picture date: 29/7/2020
While Italy’s communist tradition remains fragmented and politically marginal, France’s party is attempting to re-establish itself as an independent force rooted in working-class organisation, says NICK WRIGHT
Critics of UBI underestimate both its political significance and its economic potential, writes BERT SCHOUWENBURG
As Ontario burns, campaigners are demanding action – not more pipelines, says DAVE McKEE
Innovation in biotechnology is changing how we conceive of meat, say ROX MIDDLETON, LIAM SHAW and MIRIAM GAUNTLETT of SCIENCE AND SOCIETY
CUTS and privatisation, caused by constant rounds of restructuring, have fragmented the NHS to the point that it is dying on its feet. This is manifested by the dangerously low levels of experienced staff which leads to patient neglect and premature deaths. The gateways into the NHS are being shut for tens of thousands requiring medical treatment.
The catastrophe unfolding across the NHS is no accident — it has been deliberately designed and implemented by successive governments — governments determined to reduce overall state expenditure on health and distance themselves from the historic obligation to provide free healthcare to the population.
Where the NHS is concerned, it serves no good purpose to erase history just because it might be politically convenient to do so. Understanding the whole history of the NHS, why it was founded, how it worked, how and why it is being systematically destroyed by stealth, is essential in the struggle to fight to preserve what is left of a free, publicly provided health service.
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