David Cameron has made the NHS his political mission. “I can do it (explain his
priorities) in three letters: NHS,” he once said. It was a reassurance that the NHS was safe in his hands. His conviction
doubled as a vital tactical stance to prove that the Tories were ‘nasty’ no more. So, the news that he is re-affirming his faith with an NHS pledge card
is telling – a response to the fact that the public do not trust the
Conservatives with the health service. It’s back to square one.
According to Benedict Brogan, the pledges simply reiterate that the Tories can be trusted with the NHS. There is no attempt to explain how reform will unfold, nor indeed whether it will unfold at all. Rather, Cameron promises that waiting lists will be kept low, privatisation is not an option, funding will be sustained, care is to stay integrated, and the ‘N’ will remain in NHS.
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