MPs across the country challenged on the NHS Corporate Takeover Bill!

On Friday 17th September, NHS New Deal organisers across the country held creative stunts in their communities as part of our national day of action against the NHS Corporate Takeover Bill. Most of these actions took place outside local MP offices to ramp up the pressure on our elected politicians to oppose these dangerous reforms.

The day saw actions in 9 different constituencies - Norwich North, Old Bexley and Sidcup, Blyth Valley, Cheltenham, Reading East, Bromsgrove, Brent North, Portsmouth North and Milton Keynes North! Organisers used a range of creative protest materials to spread awareness about the NHS Bill and to call on politicians to oppose it.

In Portsmouth, organisers secured some great local media coverage and also had a direct conversation with their MP about the concerns around the Bill. In Brent, local councillors joined in with the action to show their support. In Blyth, following the action, the constituency has hit over 50 NHS New Deal sign ups. And in Bromsgrove, unsurprisingly Health Secretary Sajid Javid was too scared to turn up and engage with organisers, but they protested nonetheless! Across all the actions many important conversations took place about the threats facing our NHS - a huge well done to everyone who took part.

There are at least another 3 actions planned in further constituencies in the coming week. And alongside this, we’re continuing to gather signatures on our growing petition against the NHS Bill, which so far stands at over 16,000 names! We are also busy developing plans for a national action against the Bill later in Autumn - so watch this space for more details.

The NHS Bill continues to make its way through the parliamentary Committee Stage, and there have been some interesting developments during the process. At the session last Tuesday, the government said they agreed that "individuals with significant interests in private healthcare" should not be allowed to sit on NHS boards. We need to see this promise enshrined in policy before there’s any cause for celebration, but it shows that the campaigning efforts of Just Treatment and a number of other organisations including We Own It, Keep Our NHS Public, Public Matters and more are having an impact.

The fight against the NHS corporate takeover is far from over - let’s keep pushing! ✊