Streeting spoke well of vital plan to save the NHS

HERE was much fuss about Keir Starmer’s speech at the Labour Party Conference, and whether this would secure his future for the next year or not.

- David Taylor-Gooby

Yet perhaps the best speech at the Conference was that by the Health Secretary, Wes Streeting.

He passionately reaffirmed Labour's commitment to the principles of the NHS, a service free to everyone. “We stand on the shoulders of giants,” he said, referring to Clement Attlee and Nye Bevan.

The Labour Party is rightly proud of the NHS because it is a collective enterprise that actually works.

The Conservatives know it is popular and dare not dismantle it, although they may let it wither by stealth.

I can remember meeting trainee doctors when travelling in Europe who all wanted to work in the NHS if they could because of its high reputation.

Trouble is, that is not true now.

Years of neglect and underfunding have led to a deteriorating service.

Wes Streeting was honest enough to admit this. He admitted the NHS was letting people down.

Many people of modest means are having to spend all their savings to secure private healthcare because of long waiting lists.

Wes described one such case in his speech. Claire, a long term cancer patient, was forced to go private because she couldn't get a proper diagnosis on the NHS.

If the problems of the NHS are not resolved, more people who can will go private, and the NHS will become a service for the poor. It has often been said, “a service for the poor is usually a poor service”.