The government wants to bring back private finance in our NHS, even though their 2024 manifesto promised to keep our NHS “publicly owned and publicly funded”.
PFI deals signed under Tony Blair are still damaging our NHS and patient care to this day.
But here is the good news: you can stop this. The final decision will only be made by Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves at the Autumn Budget on the 26th of November.
Now is the time for Labour MPs, who were elected on a promise of our NHS staying fully publicly owned and publicly funded, to make it clear where they stand.
We are taking action outside Labour conference:
Where - Keel Wharf toward the Wheel of Liverpool,
When - 8 am to 10 am, on Monday 29th September
For Labour conference delegates
Encourage your local ward branch and CLP to pass the following motion
Model branch/CLP motion:
This [branch / CLP] notes:
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The 2024 Labour Party General Election manifesto promised that “with Labour, the NHS will always be publicly owned and publicly funded” [1]
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The recently published 10-Year Plan for Health says the government plans to "develop a business case for the use of Public Private Partnership (PPP) for Neighbourhood Health Centres" [2]
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Private Finance Initiative (PFI) is a form of PPP.
This branch believes:
- If the government goes ahead with plans for new PPP in the NHS, it would be break Labour's manifesto promise that the NHS will always be "publicly owned and publicly funded".
- All forms of PPP involve the private sector extracting huge profits from public infrastructure, which would be much more cheaply provided through direct public investment.
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Private Finance Initiative, which started under John Major and expanded under Tony Blair, has been damaging to our public services, especially the NHS. According to research by We Own It, one NHS trust, Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust, has to pay back 27 times what was borrowed. [3]
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Other research by the New Statesman showed that many NHS trusts are making more in yearly repayments of PFI debts than they spend on medicines for their patients. [4]
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Research has also shown that 78 out of 80 NHS trusts with current PFI debts have already paid back more than the amount invested in their trusts. And what is worse, the vast majority of those 78 (8 in 10 of them) could clear their repair backlog with what they still own. [5]
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The National Audit Office also found PFI was poor value for public money. [6]
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PFI was so damaging that the Conservatives banned it in the Autumn Budget in 2018. [7]
This branch resolves:
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To write to Rachel Reeves urging her to drop plans for new private finance in the NHS from her Autmn Budget.
References
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Labour Party Manifesto 2024, pg. 93 - https://labour.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Labour-Party-manifesto-2024.pdf
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10-Year Plan for Health, pg. 16 - https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/6888a0b1a11f859994409147/fit-for-the-future-10-year-health-plan-for-england.pdf
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“Tony Blair’s Private Finance deals still haunt the NHS, new league table reveals”, We Own it, 6 December 2024 - https://weownit.org.uk/news/tell-wes-streeting-no-new-pfi/
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“Some hospitals are spending more on PFI debt than they are on drugs”, New Statesman, 30 May 2022 - https://www.newstatesman.com/spotlight/healthcare/2022/05/pfi-repayments-are-costing-some-hospitals-twice-as-much-as-drugs
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“Tony Blair’s Private Finance deals still haunt the NHS, new league table reveals”, We Own it, 6 December 2024 - https://weownit.org.uk/news/tell-wes-streeting-no-new-pfi/
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“Lessons learned: private finance for infrastructure”, National Audit Office, 25 March 2025 - https://www.nao.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/lessons-learned-private-finance-for-infrastructure.pdf
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“Goodbye PFI”, House of Commons Library, 30 October 2018 - https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/goodbye-pfi/