In part III of a serialisation of his new book, JOHN McINALLY tells the extraordinary story of the attempts by ‘moderates’ to prevent leftwinger Mark Serwotka from taking the leadership of the then-newly formed PCS union
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NHS England’s abolition sets the stage for deep cuts to come
Behind Starmer’s headline-grabbing abolition of NHS England lies a ruthless drive to centralise control so that cuts of £6.6 billion can be made — even if it means reducing cancer services and clinical staff, writes JOHN LISTER
Trade unionists must raise our voices not only for justice and against occupation, but also to protect our fundamental right to protest, writes LOUISE REGAN, ahead of a not-to-be-missed PSC conference
As the PM and his chief of staff’s blunders have mounted up, ANDREW MURRAY wonders who among Labour’s diminished ‘soft left’ might make a bid for the leadership
The multiple crises this country is facing are policy-driven – and more of the same won’t turn things around, argues DIANE ABBOTT MP
If we want to do better than before then we have to learn from all our experiences – good and bad – and bring those to bear today, writes KEVIN OVENDEN
Morning Star campaigns manager CALVIN TUCKER gives the latest of his fortnightly updates on the all-important 95th Anniversary Appeal
A MASSIVE new reorganisation aimed at tightening financial controls on the NHS hit news headlines on March 13 with Sir Keir Starmer’s surprise announcement that NHS England (NHSE) is to be abolished.
Few campaigners will shed many tears at the dismantling of NHSE. Its role from the beginning was as the “national commissioning board” overseeing the competitive market for healthcare established by Andrew Lansley’s disastrous mega-“reform” that took effect from 2013.
But nor is there any obvious enthusiasm to go back to the previous model of New Labour’s market-style reforms, primary care trusts, strategic health authorities, privatisation and “world-class commissioning” — although that does seem to be the model that Streeting and Starmer are hoping to recreate.
Similar stories
Reversing outsourcing is the pre-election promise the government must honour, says Unison general secretary CHRISTINA McANEA
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
The Stafford Hospital scandal’s false mortality statistics led to devastating service cuts despite evidence disproving the whole debacle, writes CLAUDIA WEBBE, warning of similar threats under Labour’s new plans for league tables