MP: Trade Bill missed point on NHS future
MACCLESFIELD MP David Rutley was among those to vote against amendments to the Trade Bill - which included efforts to protect the NHS.
It was put forward by Green Party MP
Caroline Lucas in the House of Commons to ensure any future trade deals would not compromise the NHS’s free-at-the-point-ofdelivery service.
But Mr Rutley says the amendment ‘missed the point’ and that assurances have already been given that the NHS is safe.
The amendment was voted down by 340 votes to 251 in parliament.
Afterwards Mr Rutley said: “The Trade Bill only carries over existing free trade agreements that the EU had signed with other countries before the UK left the EU.
“It ensures the continuity of our trade with those countries.
“The opposition amendment missed the point that the Bill has nothing to do with future Free Trade Agreements, including with the US or any other country. The government has made it very clear that the NHS will never be on the table in any future trade deal – I strongly support that commitment.”
Supporters of the amendment say it was put forward to protect the NHS in England, as well as health and care services in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, from any form of control from outside the UK.
Also to ensure staff would not have wages cut, medicine pricing was controlled and patient data was not sold off.
Of Cheshire’s MPs, three others also voted against it, four voted for it and three had no vote recorded.