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MPs hear evidence during debate on NHS privatisation in Parliament

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/mps-hear-evidence-during-debate-nhs-privatisation-parliament

 A general view of staff on a NHS hospital ward

MPs have demanded that Health Secretary Wes Streeting “listen to experts” who warned against implementing his “disastrous” plans to further privatise the NHS.

At a debate chaired by Labour MP Richard Burgon in Westminster on Tuesday, MPs heard new expert evidence exposing that levels of privatisation within the health service were far higher than previously thought.

Mr Burgon said: “We need to push back against this Mandelsonian wing of the Labour party. I want Wes to hear what is being shared in this room.

“Privatisation is disastrous for patients and for workers. It’s not the way forward.”

The meeting with the NHS working group coincided with the publication of a report co-authored by campaigners Keep Our NHS Public and the 99% Organisation.

It found the level of private involvement in the NHS to be about 30 per cent, rather than the more widely known figure of 7 per cent.

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MPs including Rachel Maskell, Andy McDonald, Neil Duncan-Jordan heard testimonies on the “disastrous” state of privatisation in the NHS from health experts, NHS staff and economists.

Report co-author Mark E Thomas said: “The figure which is most referred to in this debate was 7 per cent of privatisation. But really we need to be thinking 30 per cent.”

He added: “In some specialties, more than 50 per cent of treatments are already paid for privately, such as ophthalmology for example. It’s the same for dentistry.”

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Original article at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/mps-hear-evidence-during-debate-nhs-privatisation-parliament

Keir Starmer confirms that he's proud to be a red Tory continuing austerity and targeting poor and disabled scum.
Keir Starmer confirms that he’s proud to be a red Tory continuing austerity and targeting poor and disabled scum.
Nigel Farage attacks the NHS
Nigel Farage attacks the NHS
Image of George Osborne asking where is the money to be made in the NHS
Image of George Osborne asking where is the money to be made in the NHS

Continue ReadingMPs hear evidence during debate on NHS privatisation in Parliament

Labour should have ended Palantir NHS contract after warnings from officials, campaigners say

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/labour-should-have-ended-palantir-nhs-contract-after-warnings-officials-campaigners-say

 NHS staff blockade the entrance to NHS England’s headquarters in central London demanding the cancellation of its contract with Palantir, which supplies advanced technology to Israel’s military, April 3, 2024

LABOUR should have ended the £300 million NHS contract with Palantir, campaigners said today after it emerged officials warned the US tech firm’s reputation would hinder its rollout.

Health Secretary Wes Streeting was privately briefed last June that “public perception” of Palantir — which works for the Israeli military and US Ice operations — was affecting delivery of the AI data platform and would “make it harder to go further,” documents released to campaign group Foxglove revealed.

Fewer than half of health authorities had started using the technology by last summer amid opposition from the public and doctors.

The fallout over Peter Mandelson’s relationship with Jeffrey Epstein also affected Palantir’s image, as it employed the former ambassador’s lobbying company, Global Counsel.

Keep Our NHS Public co-chairman Dr Tony O’Sullivan said: “This initial NHS contract with Palantir was made by Matt Hancock and the Tories in 2020, but Labour should have ended it.

“Well over £1 billion of public money is now in Palantir’s hands… despite being steeped in the blood of migrants hounded by Ice in the US and the people of Gaza and the West Bank.”

He urged Palantir to be “out of the NHS” and patients’ data when the contract is re-examined in 2027.

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Article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/labour-should-have-ended-palantir-nhs-contract-after-warnings-officials-campaigners-say

Experiencing issues with this image not appearing. I suspect because it's so critical of Zionist Keir Starmer's support of and complicity in Israel's genocides.
Genocide denier and Current UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer is quoted that he supports Zionism without qualification. He also confirms that UK air force support has been essential in Israel’s mass-murdering genocide. Includes URLs https://www.declassifieduk.org/keir-starmers-100-spy-flights-over-gaza-in-support-of-israel/ and https://youtu.be/O74hZCKKdpA
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza's hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
Keir Starmer objects to criticism of the IDF. He asks how could anyone object to them starving people to death, forced marches like the Nazis did, bombing Gaza’s hospitals and universities, mass-murdering journalists, healthworkers and starving people queuing for food, killing and raping prisoners and murdering children. He calls for people to stop obstructing his genocide for Israel.
Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.
Orcas discuss Genocide-supporting and complicit Zionists. Donald Trump, Keith Starmer, David Lammy, Rachel Reeves, Angela Rayner and Wes Streeting are acknowledged as evil genocide-complicit and supporting cnuts.

Continue ReadingLabour should have ended Palantir NHS contract after warnings from officials, campaigners say

Streeting urged to release messages with private healthcare-linked donors

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/streeting-urged-release-messages-private-healthcare-linked-donors

 Health Secretary Wes Streeting speaking to the media during a visit to the specialist surgical unit at Trafford General Hospital in Manchester, February 12, 2026

CAMPAIGNERS have written to Wes Streeting requesting the release of his messages with five private healthcare-linked donors, following the Health Secretary’s publication of WhatsApp chats with disgraced former peer Peter Mandelson.

The letter, signed by leaders of eight organisations campaigning against NHS privatisation — including We Own It, the Socialist Health Association and Doctors Association UK — said the public has a right to know how health policy is decided.

They said: “Releasing to the public your messages with these donors (relating to health policy, DHSC [Department of Health and Social Care] announcements and NHS contracts) would help assure the public that your policy of increasing the use of the private sector for the provision of NHS services, is not driven by a quid pro quo relationship.”

Research by the Good Law Project in April 2025 showed 60 per cent of donations received by Mr Streeting since 2015 have come from private healthcare companies or those with financial interests in the sector.

Mr Mandelson, whose lobbying firm Global Counsel, represents data surveillance firm Palantir, has previously helped to facilitate a meeting between the firm and Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer.

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Article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/streeting-urged-release-messages-private-healthcare-linked-donors

Continue ReadingStreeting urged to release messages with private healthcare-linked donors

Water privatisers ‘treating system as an ATM,’ campaigners say as bills set to hike

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/water-privatisers-treating-system-atm-campaigners-say-bills-set-hike

 People collect bottled water at a water station in East Grinstead, after South East Water blamed bad weather for more water outages in Kent and parts of Sussex, January 13, 2026.

WATER privatisers are treating the system as an ATM, campaigners said today as South East Water (SEW) confirmed bills will rise to an average of £324 a year from April.

The increase comes as the company faces an Ofwat investigation after thousands of homes and businesses were left without water in recent weeks.

About 30,000 properties across Kent and Sussex were affected earlier this month, which SEW blamed on Storm Goretti causing burst pipes and power cuts. 

This followed a similar incident in December, when 24,000 customers in Tunbridge Wells were left without drinking water for up to two weeks.

Ofwat is also investigating whether SEW breached customer service obligations, marking its first probe under the regulator’s customer-focused licence condition.

If breaches are confirmed, the company could be placed into special administration.

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Article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/water-privatisers-treating-system-atm-campaigners-say-bills-set-hike

Image of a burst water main.
Image of a burst water main.
Continue ReadingWater privatisers ‘treating system as an ATM,’ campaigners say as bills set to hike

Morning Star Editorial: South East Water should be taken into public ownership

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/south-east-water-should-be-taken-public-ownership

 A worker hands over bottled water at a water station in East Grinstead, after bad weather was blamed for more water outages in Kent and parts of Sussex, January 12, 2026

HOW much longer are people in south-east England expected to put up with the depredations of South East Water?

Seventeen communities across Sussex and Kent, including 30,000 households, were without a water supply today, in some cases for the fourth day running. And this comes after prolonged outages last year, notably in and around Tunbridge Wells.

There is no more basic human requirement than a water supply. Without it, society starts to crumble and, indeed, schools, libraries and health clinics have had to shut in affected areas while elderly residents have been asked to travel up to seventy miles to secure a bottled water supply.

The only thing not in short supply from South East Water is excuses, mainly around the weather — that and fat-cat payments of course.

As recently as 2023 the company was spending millions more on dividends and interest payments on debt — it was debt-free when privatised by Thatcher — than it was in investing in its crumbling infrastructure.

And bungling chief executive David Hinton was, almost unbelievably, paid a £115,000 bonus last year on top of his £400,000 salary.

This was despite not only South East Water’s wretched service delivery but also the fact that it had to turn to its owners —  mainly overseas investment funds — for an extra £200 million in cash to stave off insolvency. The company is barely more stable than the effectively bankrupt Thames Water. Local MPs have unsurprisingly called on Hinton to resign.

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Article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/south-east-water-should-be-taken-public-ownership

Continue ReadingMorning Star Editorial: South East Water should be taken into public ownership