The Labour Party created the NHS in 1948 to be there for everyone, rich and poor, in times of need, free at the point of use. In 2012, the NHS was the best healthcare system in the world. Today the NHS is suffering because of many years of cuts and privatisation. 

In this general election year, we call on the Labour Party to commit to reinstating the NHS as a fully public service, with proper funding and staffing.

NHS privatisation kills. Evidence shows there have been 557 extra deaths because of outsourcing. In the privatised American healthcare system, many more people die and many go bankrupt.

NHS privatisation wastes money on private profits that should be spent on patient care. Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting has called NHS outsourcing ‘bad value’ and said ‘we’d like to bring more services back in-house’. Labour has promised a ‘wave of insourcing’, recognising that this is more efficient and effective. 

Since the last election, the government has wasted huge amounts of money on Covid contracts with profit-making companies that have failed - for example the £33 billion wasted on private Test and Trace.

78% of the British public believe our NHS should be in public ownership. The public sees the NHS as the second most important issue facing the country, after the cost of living crisis. Two thirds of the public, including a majority of 2019 Conservative voters, want the NHS reinstated as a fully public service. 

We Own It is independent of any political party but we are asking the opposition party to stand up for what the NHS was always intended to be.

• Read this article by Allyson Pollock to learn about how and why the NHS needs to be reinstated as a fully public service. 
• Read more about who owns our NHS and ways it has been privatised.
• Read more about this demand and FAQs HERE.

Photo: Chris McAndrew, CC BY 3.0, adapted