SNP in vow to protect NHS
Stirling SNP candidate Alyn Smith this week said a vote for his party would save the NHS from privatisation.
He warned that a post-Brexit trade deal with Donald Trump threatened public services, including the health service.
At a press conference during his state visit last June, President Trump pointed out that the NHS “is on the table” regarding a future trade deal between the USA and the UK.
Mr Smith said: “This really is a vital election for Scotland on a number of fronts, not least because of the proposed post-Brexit trade deal between Boris Johnson and Donald Trump.
“President Trump has indicated that the NHS will be very much on the table regarding such a trade deal, and frankly this is a terrifying prospect for the future of this incredible public service.
“Boris Johnson’s own senior advisor Dominic Cummings has been quoted saying that Tory MPs don’t care about the NHS, and it is clear that the future of our health service cannot be trusted in the hands of this Tory government.
“The SNP has invested record funding into NHS Forth Valley, and Scotland enjoys the bestperforming health service in the UK – with the highest patient satisfaction rate.
“I want us to improve on that record, not be forced down the Tories’ regressive path of privatisation.
“If elected, myself and other SNP MPs will work with others to bring forward legislation that protects the public nature of our NHS from privatisation in the hands of Boris Johnson and Donald Trump.”
Mr Johnson said in the BBC Question Time debate on Friday that the NHS would never be for sale, and he denied it would be part of trade talks with the US.