‘We cannot let the Assisted Dying Bill threaten our NHS’

The founding principles of the NHS, enshrined in the language of the National Health Service Act – though often under threat in their 80 year history – have never been meaningfully amended or changed.

However, the Assisted Dying Bill now before Parliament contains a worrying amendment that gives so-called ‘Henry VIII powers’ to the current, and any future, Health Secretary to amend the founding documents of the NHS, using regulations instead of full Parliamentary scrutiny.

To be clear, this power to change the National Health Service Act was not in the Bill MPs voted on in November.

Last week, we marked the 80th anniversary of Victory in Europe Day. In the aftermath of years of destruction, Attlee and Bevan promised a better future and at the heart of their promise was the NHS and its offer of hope and renewal.

Section 1 of the 1946 National Health Service Act was the heart of this vision. It promised a healthier, stronger, and fairer nation. It was a Labour government that established the NHS, enshrining the principle of caring for the health of all, free at the point of charge, and regardless of wealth or circumstance.

We know after 14 long years of Tory misrule and mismanagement that our NHS needs renewal. That is why so many in this country voted last July for change under the Labour Party. To ensure a government committed to rebuilding our NHS, to realise the vision of Bevan and Attlee, and to protect a health system that provides world-class treatment and care to all, regardless of their background or condition.

So why does the Assisted Dying Bill allow for the rewriting of Section 1(1) of the NHS Act? Why are we being asked to delegate the legacy of Bevan and Attlee to the whim of future ministers?

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‘This bill gives too much unchecked power to erode the principles of the NHS’

Without answers to these questions, we simply do not know what is before us. MPs are being asked to vote through vague powers that can be used to change the legislative pillars of the NHS itself.

In proposing these unchecked powers to edit the founding documents of the NHS we risk writing a blank cheque to future governments and secretaries of state, whose party or intentions we cannot hope to know. And that is why I’ve have put an amendment down on this Bill to remove those powers. 

The last election gave us a mandate to rebuild our NHS, to make it fit for the future so it could continue to serve our country free at the point of need. 

But we know other political parties in this country do not share that vision and given the chance, could threaten our NHS.

I have always fought for a Labour Government and have had the privilege of serving as an MP under two separate Labour administrations. But I have also seen us lose elections and know the frustration of watching from the sidelines as Conservative Health Secretaries erode the NHS and the health of the nation. 

Put bluntly, this Assisted Dying Bill gives too much unchecked power to future Governments and Health Secretaries to erode the principles of the NHS. That is too much of a risk for me and, I hope, other Labour MPs.

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