DON’T TRUST JOHNSON ON NHS
Poll reveals majority believe lying PM will sell off health services in U.S pact
A DAMNING poll has found a majority of people believe Boris Johnson is lying about keeping the NHS out of any trade deal with Donald Trump after Brexit.
The PM insists the service will not be thrown open to profit-driven private firms.
But the poll revealed 45% do not believe him. And doctor turned comic Adam Kay said: “We have seen Boris’s CV, the lies. Why
do we expect him to be good to his word about anything?” The poll, for campaign group We Own It, carried out by Survation found only 31% believe Mr Johnson’s pledge on the NHS and a US trade deal, while 24% said they did not know.
And 71% of those quizzed said they did not think the NHS should be included in trade deals, compared to just 16 % who did.
The poll found 57% of people are either “very concerned” or “quite concerned” about the impact a trade deal with Mr Trump could have on the NHS.
Ellen Lees, of We Own It, said: “This poll shows clearly the public understand just how big of a threat a US trade deal is to our NHS.
“And it shows they’re firmly against the idea that it could be sold off bit by bit to Donald Trump and American private healthcare giants.
“Because the private sector already has a major role in the NHS, it is automatically on the table in a trade deal, no matter what Boris Johnson says.
“That’s why it’s absolutely vital that the Government ends the privatisation of our NHS once and for all. That’s the only way we can protect it from being sold off in a trade deal.” Keep Our NHS Public co-chair Tony O’Sullivan added: “Legislation to return the NHS wholly to the care and responsibility of public service and ending privatisation is the only cast-iron defence against a Johnson-Trump deal. Only this will guarantee for our children the future of the NHS for all.” The poll also found just 18% of people trusted the Tories to run the NHS, while 31% said it would be safer under Labour, the highest of all the parties.
Mr Johnson has repeatedly denied the health service will be up for grabs in any trade deal with the US. Ahead of meeting Mr Trump in New York last month, the PM said he would tell him: “When we do a free trade deal, we must make sure the NHS is not on the table, that we do not in any way prejudice or jeopardise our standards on animal welfare and food hygiene in the course of that deal, and that we open up American markets.”
The Mirror has reported how The Office of the US Trade Representative published a summary of objectives for trade negotiations after Brexit. It says American pharmaceutical firms want “full market access for US products”.
This poll shows the public does understand the threat to our NHS
ELLEN LEES OF WE OWN IT CAMPAIGN GROUP