Hundreds of NHS doctors are to form an independent coalition to challenge Liberal Democrat and Conservative MPs in the 2015 election to protest against the Government’s “undemocratic” NHS reforms.
A group of 240 doctors and consultants, including 30 professors, have pledged to stand against MPs who backed the Health and Social Care Bill, including Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister; Andrew Lansley, the Health Secretary and architect of the reforms; and other senior Liberal Democrats and Tories and those in marginal seats.
The group signed a letter published last night which described the parliamentary passage of the reforms as an “embarrassment” to democracy and the Bill as one that would destroy the NHS, leading to the increasing privatisation of healthcare in England.
“It is our view that coalition MPs and peers have placed the political survival of the coalition Government above professional opinion, patient safety and the will of the citizens of this country,” they wrote.
“We are shocked by the failure of the democratic process and the facilitating role played by the Liberal Democrats in the passage of this Bill. We have therefore decided to form a coalition of healthcare professionals to take on coalition MPs at the next general election, on the non-party, independent ticket of defending the NHS.”
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The doctors accused the Liberal Democrats of ignoring the democratic view of their spring conference to forge ahead with the Bill. They said that despite failing to have the support of major healthcare organisations and professional associations, the Bill was likely to be granted Royal Assent this Tuesday.
Tomorrow Lord Owen, former leader of the now defunt Social Democatic Party, and now a crossbencher, will lead an amendment calling for the Bill’s final stage to be delayed until the Government publishes the “transition risk register”, a confidential assessment by civil servants of the consequences of introducing the legislation. But while Labour peers will back the amendment, it is not expected to gain enough support to block the Bill.
The doctors’ letter, published in The Independent, was organised by Dr Clive Peedell, a cancer specialist and co-chair of the NHS Consultants’ Association. He told the newspaper he had been “overwhelmed” by how many candidates had come forward since he began collecting signatures on Thursday evening.
Dr Peedell said the group would field “as many candidates as possible” at the 2015 election, with other supporters acting in administrative and fundraising roles.
Richard Taylor, a retired consultant who was elected independent MP for Wyre Forest, Worcestershire, in 2001 in protest at the downgrading of his local hospital, will act as an adviser for GPs planning to stand for election.
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“I had no more thought of becoming an MP when I retired than I had of going to the moon, and I’m sure these doctors were the same,” Mr Taylor said.
His advice was that those doctors selected as candidates must be popular in their own areas and able to portray what they stand for as a national issue.
“They will need an unpopular sitting MP or one who has voted the wrong way, so they must choose their targets wisely,” he said.