Will #Brexit scupper the Tories’ NHS privatisation plan?

This is interesting, from Eoin Clarke’s Facebook page:

“Page 98 of the Tory NHS Act 2012 makes NHS Privatisation possible because it opens up the NHS to EU Competition Law. This means that when the NHS tenders a contract it is legally obliged to invite bids from the private sector.

“Reversing this was always going to be very difficult for a Labour government. £40 billion of NHS contracts have been handed to the private sector and some of them for up to 15 years.

“Now that Britain is leaving the EU, it is much easier to stop this.

“Overnight, the NHS Act becomes null and void.

“There is no need for the NHS to comply with EU Competition Law. It would require another Act to enshrine UK Competition Law into the NHS.

“Also, it becomes much easier for a subsequent Labour government to reverse NHS privatisation. We would no longer be in breach of EU Competition Law.

“The same is true of renationalising the railways now.”

It occurs to me that the plan to enshrine all EU law onto the UK statute books, and then simply dispose of whatever the Conservatives don’t like, may create an obstacle to Dr Clarke’s suggestion.

But I think the point is that it is much easier to change UK law – as a Labour government could, once it comes into office – than EU law.

Your thoughts?

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3 Comments

  1. Barry Davies December 9, 2016 at 4:59 pm - Reply

    I agree transposing all eu law into british law is supposed to make it easier to discard the bad points, but as you have said it is likely they will want to keep anything that involves privatisation.

  2. Thomas December 9, 2016 at 5:16 pm - Reply

    The Tories don’t always think things through fully.

    • Mike Sivier December 10, 2016 at 1:34 pm - Reply

      Spelling: always/ever.
      You’re welcome.

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