The Conservative Government Has Been Briefing Against the NHS For Some Time, But Now They Are In A Tricky Situation

It’s an undeniable fact that many of the Tories see £ (and $) signs when they look at the NHS. Over the past decade or more they have led on a campaign of negative PR against this genuine national treasure, with the intent of cashing in on it for themselves and for their friends. Whether it be setting impossible targets and then lamenting a ‘failing NHS’, to the much more sinister attempts to associate the Jimmy Saville horror show with the service. (That was Sir Jimmy Saville, knighted under Thatcher’s Tory government.) the strategy has been there for any free-thinking person to see.

But now they are in a bit of a pickle, because they are forced to stand behind a podium with the words ‘Protect the NHS’ emblazoned across the front for everyone to witness, around the entire world. And now, even more than ever, people know first-hand what an incredible wonder the NHS is, and can see what damage an unsupportive government has done. Not only that, we are also seeing the disaster area that is the American health care system imploding, and the American style system is what the Conservatives and their friends would like the UK to get closer to.

Of course, there has been criticism from many quarters about the new approach, and understandably cries of ‘hypocrisy’ have been screamed from certain parts of the media, social and otherwise. But a nation that has largely loved the NHS, now REALLY loves it. With rousing applause every Thursday evening, signs in windows, billboards and much more. And even those who were more convinced by the negativity realise that most ‘failings’ are as a result of woeful underfunding and mismanagement, the second often coming as a result of structural changes led by government.

But what will they do when things return to some form of normality. A leopard doesn’t change its spots, and the pressure will soon mount once again to extract every possibility of profit from the NHS. In the same way that I expect to see some hefty advertising campaigns desperately trying to drag us back into consumerism, of physical stuff but also sports, keep an eye on what happens with the NHS. It will probably be subtle at first, look for the odd headline in the Express and Mail. But it’s not unlikely that they will look for a super-scandal, some top NHS person accused of being a paedophile or rapist and then using the favoured guilty by association tactic. But if that approach is accepted, then the Conservative Government is guilty by association on a number of counts. And on others, just plain guilty.