Memo to Jeremy: Remind voters it’s not the economy that pays for the NHS but the health service that powers the economy

At the last election Labour campaigned very heavily on the NHS and went on to lose, badly. Yet the health service continues to be regarded as the most important and loved institution in this country. After last night’s rally, which featured Jeremy Corbyn and Jon Ashworth, we should ask what went wrong in 2015?

Our campaign then was focused on “privatisation”, a negative campaign, concerned with process not delivery. The Tories argued that the NHS is safe with them, which is a positive message, regardless of the facts.

Now the new chancellor, Philip Hammond, is holding back the funding the NHS needs, on the argument of affordability. He seems to say that the population is ageing and the country simply can’t afford the NHS. This is a bleak message, which we can take on and beat, if we turn the argument on its head.

The NHS is one of the most important tools for the British economy. By ensuring that the British population is fit and able to work, our economy has expanded over the last 20 years. If a proportion of the workforce was incapacitated, and another chunk had below par fitness, then the economy would not be the success it is today, and the chancellor would suffer a consequent loss of tax income, both through direct taxation and the consequence of lower consumer spending, caused by a smaller working population. Having a healthy population boosts the economy, which generates the tax revenue needed for everything else.

Hammond doesn’t have an alternative plan, other than withholding funding and allowing budgets to be squeezed. Maybe the Tories are hoping that by making the pips squeak then efficiencies will be found to allow the system to continue. Or perhaps they just want us to get used to a system in perpetual crisis?

We need to turn this argument on its head. It’s not the economy that pays for the healthcare, but the healthcare that pays for the economy.

The Tories argue that the largest single demographic is the elderly. Their well-being doesn’t help the economy because their working life is over. Ministers continue to provide, but do so inadequately. This leads to waiting lists and bankrupt hospitals, so everyone suffers. In this way the Tories are indirectly damaging the economy.

When Labour attacks “privatisation” as some sort of moral wrong, it is not just negative, but disingenuous. The Blair government created the internal market, and care services in Labour boroughs are almost entirely private company supplied.

The “privatisation” angle only became a mantra when Ed Miliband was struggling to find an simple objection to Andrew Lansley’s reforms. Because Lansley promised to put GPs in charge, it was difficult to attack the policy without attacking everyone’s family doctor. Miliband resorted to “privatisation” as a crude but effective right hook.

Lansley’s reforms proved to be a disaster, but “privatisation” as a campaign message was always an awkward fig leaf. The important argument is the lack of funding, which coincides with tax cuts for the rich. By turning the economic case on its head, we are able to make the call for funding credible and undeniable. This should be our primary approach.

The NHS builds the economy and creates the tax base that makes this country rich. Lets support one of the biggest economic levers we have.