Madam,
I feel obliged to point out that recent claims by the local Labour party in your publication simply do not correspond with the actions of their national party.
The current Labour health secretary Andy Burnham said in June, “Labour believes the private sector has a role to play in delivering world-class care to patients.” The last Labour government expanded the role of the private sector in the health service and Gordon Brown saddled health trusts with decades of financially burdensome contracts under his dreadful private finance initiatives. NHS privatisation will no doubt continue under a Labour government.
Ed Miliband and Ed Balls have explicitly ruled out taking the railways back into public hands.
Regarding benefits and getting people out of poverty, Labour has pledged to match the current government’s austerity programme. Labour has yet to commit to a living wage for all and has steered clear of wealth taxes on the super-rich.
Labour launched the divisive academies program, and Michael Gove’s free schools were merely an expansion of them.
Ed Miliband has opposed every strike that has been legitimately called by trade unions since he was elected leader, including fire-fighters, Tube workers and most recently public sector workers and teachers.
While local Labour activists are doubtless sincere, they are profoundly at odds with the national Labour Party, which shows no sign of delivering social justice. Anyone looking for a pro-NHS, pro-workers, pro-comprehensive schools, re-nationalising set of compassionate policies might want to try the Green Party instead.
Sincerely,
Carol Kambites