"Entitlement to free health services in England will be curtailed by the Health and Social Care Bill currently before parliament. The bill sets out a new statutory framework that would abolish the duty of primary care trusts (PCTs) to secure health services for everyone living in a defined geographical area. New clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) will arrange provision of fewer government funded health services and determine the scope of these services independently of the secretary of state for health. They may delegate this decision to commercial companies. The bill also provides for health services to be arranged by local authorities, with provision for new charging powers for services currently provided free through the NHS (clauses 1, 12, 13, 17, and 49), and it will give the secretary of state an extraordinary power to exclude people from the health service. Taken together the measures would facilitate the transition from tax financed healthcare to the mixed financing model of the United States. We provide an analysis of the key legal reforms that will govern policy development and implementation if the bill is enacted."
an English friend posted this to FB today: a list of the vested interests held by those who voted the bill in (they're required by law to publish their interests, but they are not prevented from making laws in their interest) http://www.socialinvestigations.blogspot.co.uk/2012/02/nhs-privatisation-compilation-of.html
The Lib Dems look finished as a party. Unfortunately, it also looks like the Tories will win an outright majority, and the gloves will really come off.
Then again, I don't know if Abbott's Australia will be much better.
I wonder how an independent Scotland will turn out; some are talking about it becoming the first English-speaking Scandinavian-style social democracy.
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In terms of direct harm to the majority of the British population, this is far more serious than the poll tax. Do you think that public opposition will now mobilise more visibly now that the bill has passed?
Do you think the Liberal Democrats will get slaughtered in the next election? They must be severely alienating many of their party members, let alone people who voted for them.