The US president, Donald Trump, has congratulated Boris Johnson on his election win and said Britain and the United States would now be free to strike a “massive” new trade deal after Brexit.
“This deal has the potential to be far bigger and more lucrative than any deal that could be made with the EU. Celebrate Boris,” Trump said in a tweet earlier today (Friday 13 December).
The official report on the US’s negotiating priorities in any talks on a trade deal explicitly state that “state-owned enterprises” should “accord non-discriminatory treatment with respect to the purchase and sale of goods and services”.
Prior to the election, Dr Jane Stratton, an A&E doctor and a member of Keep Our NHS Public, expressed her concerns about the possible privatisation of the NHS in the Mirror.
“I have always had strong views about the political context in which I do my job, and have always felt thankful that I don't have to work in a toxic private system like the United States,” Dr Stratton wrote. “Despite its rusty edges and leaky ceilings, the NHS has always been accessible to the community I live in and people’s ability to pay hasn't affected whether or not I can help them.”
“Since the 2012 Health and Social Care Act was introduced this has slowly become a distant memory. I believe most of what we think of as the fundamental principles of the NHS have now been eroded - I now have to consider whether a patient will be able to pay for their care before treating them,” she said.
She said that the privatisation of the NHS flies in the face of politicians who spout an "insincere" line about the NHS being a "national treasure".
