BMJ  2005;330:986 (30 April), doi:10.1136/bmj.330.7498.986

News

2005 UK election special

Avoiding the issues

David G Green, director

Civitas: The Institute for the Study of Civil Society

By not addressing the monopolistic nature of the NHS, all three parties fail to raise the real issues, says David Green

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

Comparing manifestos tells us as much about what the three main parties don't say as what they do. All three main parties agree that the NHS should continue to be a public sector monopoly. But the NHS is only one way to achieve the ideal shared across Europe: that no one should be denied health care because they lack money. A strong case can be made that the social insurance schemes of Germany, France, and Switzerland have been more successful than the NHS system. The poorest people in those countries enjoy a higher standard of care than in the United Kingdom, not having to face rationing and restricted choice.

However, the differences in policy between the three parties are not trivial. All three parties accept that the private sector should supply services to the NHS. The Tories are the keenest and want private providers to have a "right to supply" . . . [Full text of this article]

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