Healthcare may trump Brexit in battle for vote

As Britain's "Brexit election" campaign swings into action, it may not be the country's exit from the European Union which takes centre stage but another national obsession - the health service.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has cast the Dec. 12 election as necessary to break the deadlock in parliament over Brexit, telling voters that only by returning his Conservatives with a majority can the country finally quit the European Union.

But many supporters of the opposition Labour Party, whose ambiguous position over Brexit has alienated some voters, believe the best chance of winning power is to focus the debate on other issues.

The state-run National Health Service (NHS), which has provided free at the point of use healthcare for more than 70 years, is a hugely emotive issue. Opinion polls consistently show voters cite it as the second biggest issue after Brexit.

Struggling under the pressure of record demand due to a growing and ageing population, as well as cut backs to social care services, the NHS has warned it faces a shortfall in funding despite government promises of extra money.

Despite its cherished status, complaints about long waiting times for consultations and operations, crumbling hospitals and staff shortages are a regular feature of public discourse.

Labour plan to make the NHS a big part of their campaign.

"This government has put our NHS into crisis, and this election is a once-in-a-generation chance to end privatisation in our NHS, give it the funding it needs," Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn said, attacking Johnson in parliament.

Corbyn's central charge: the NHS is at risk of being sold off to American corporations in any post-Brexit trade deal Johnson's government does with U.S. President Donald Trump.

"Labour won't let Donald Trump get his hands on our National Health Service," Corbyn said to cheers from the audience at his campaign launch in southwest London.

"Quite bluntly, it's not for sale," he said, as the crowd rose to its feet and chanted: "Not for sale, not for sale."

Johnson has repeatedly said the NHS would not be on the table in any trade talks but opposition lawmakers say they do not trust him.

Trump, who said during a visit to Britain in June that everything including health would be on the table in trade talks but then backtracked and said health would not be, told LBC radio that Corbyn's claim was ridiculous and he did not know where it came from.

Asked about whether the health service would be up for grabs in trade talks, Trump said: "No, not at all, we wouldn't even be involved in that, no."

"No. It's not for us to have anything to do with your healthcare system," he said. "No, we're just talking about trade."