Please don't bring Brexit into the NHS debate, the reasons for Brexit were broad, and the debate over the future of the NHS is already complicated enough. That

Please don't bring Brexit into the NHS debate, the reasons for Brexit were broad, and the debate over the future of the NHS is already complicated enough. That aside, the push for the privatisation of the NHS has been going on for a long time. For example "Britain's Biggest Enterprise: Ideas for Radical Reform of the NHS" was a policy essay written by Oliver Letwin and John Redwood in 1988. You can read it here: https://www.cps.org.uk/files/reports/original/111027171245-BritainsBiggestEnterprise1988.pdf https://www.cps.org.uk/files/reports/original/111027171245-B... . It sets out a group of suggestions for moving the responsibility of the NHS away from the government and towards the private sector. It's quite interesting reading it now (it's only 20 pages), as despite key problems with each approach being identified back in 1988, we've ended up with similar policies being pushed forward in 2012. I think this boils down to the blindness of ideology, if you're determined to break up public healthcare institutions, it doesn't matter if your reforms lead to a more effective healthcare system or not. As an example of this, PFI has been used heavily since New Labour came to power in 1997 (and by the Conservatives that followed them) to fund the building of new hospitals and schools. To explain, PFI is effectively funding public building works by private, for-profit loan companies. Before PFI, these building works were funded by government at low interest rates. To give some idea of the burden of PFI on the NHS, it's been estimated to drain £2 billion a year from NHS funds. If you want to reduce NHS waiting times, I'd suggest pushing for scrapping PFI would be a good start. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/nhs/11748960/The-PFI-hospitals-costing-NHS-2bn-every-year.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/nhs/11748960/The-PFI-hospita...