Marching to save the NHS, 4.3.17, photo Mary Finch

Marching to save the NHS, 4.3.17, photo Mary Finch   (Click to enlarge: opens in new window)

Mike Forster, Chair, Hands Off HRI (personal capacity)

Uncertainty and instability has gripped the entire establishment and the government. The Tories’ failure to secure a mandate – as well as the Jeremy Corbyn surge – has given huge confidence to health service campaigners up and down the country.

New legislation is not required to continue with the Tories’ plans for the NHS but they no longer have the political will or the confidence to push it through. This will not stop proposed closures, cuts or some privatisations but hopefully will slow them down.

The key to our drive to save the NHS will be huge mobilisations on the 1 July ‘Tories out’ demonstration and also on the NHS 69th birthday on 5 July.

Health Campaigns Together, along with the People’s Assembly and Keep Our NHS Public, is now officially working with the TUC to mobilise for both events. This will help maintain momentum and keep the pressure up on the government.

Birthday events

Local areas are now finalising plans for birthday events in every area together with NHS union members. All this will help build local alliances of workers, community campaigns and the public, which can act as a battering ram to keep all hospitals open and safeguard services.

Hands Off HRI will be mobilising for the 1 July demonstration in London and marching with the health bloc to keep the whole issue of health service cuts to the fore.

Our local clinical commissioning group (CCG) is due to release its final draft business case to shut our A&E and will meet council officers on 21 July.

Not only are we building local protests for the meeting but we have our legal team on standby to pick apart their plans and, if required, take them to court. We have built up a war chest of £50,000 and will continue fundraising to keep that chest topped up.

Ongoing community support remains critical to the morale and confidence of our campaign. Huddersfield continues to offer great support and will fight to the end to save local hospital services.

  • Join the Hands Off HRI ‘party in the park’ at Greenhead Park, Huddersfield, midday-8pm, Saturday 24 June

Tories Out

National Demonstration

Saturday 1 July, 12pm, BBC Broadcasting House, Portland Place, London, W1A 1AA. March to Parliament Square