LABOURS OWN ANDY BURNAM SAYS Andy Burnham will make a speech in Manchester today, demanding that the agenda of privatisation within the NHS is stopped until the public are consulted. SNP deputy Nicola Sturgeon and Scottish Greens chief Patrick Harvey argued a Yes vote would save the Scottish NHS but ex-First Minister Jack McConnell called on the nationalists to withdraw their huge lie about the health service. Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has warned of NHS spending cuts in the event of a No vote THE Yes and No campaigns in the independence referendum have set out rival visions on the NHS as the battle for votes focused on future of the health service. Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Scottish Greens co-convener Patrick Harvie argued a Yes vote would save Scotlands NHS on a visit to Glasgows Victoria Infirmary. Meanwhile former First Minister Jack McConnell called on the nationalists to withdraw their big huge lie about the health service at a Better Together event in Edinburgh. Independence supporters argue that Scots should vote to leave the UK to protect the NHS from privatisation taking place south of the border, while pro-union campaigners point out that decisions on health are already devolved to the Scottish Parliament. Ms Sturgeon said Scotland would sleepwalk into further spending cuts in the event of a No vote. She said: Scotlands budget has already been subject to Westminster cuts and now Labour shadow health secretary Andy Burnham has said that the NHS south of the Border will be pushed off the cliff edge by Tory privatisation and cuts. Labour in Scotland must listen to the warnings from their colleagues south of the Border - the NHS is under threat from Westminster cuts and we must take action now to ensure we can continue to protect it. The No parties denial of the risks we are facing would see us sleepwalking into cuts in the event of a No vote. This is a risk we absolutely cannot take. We must vote Yes to protect our NHS for future generations of Scots. Writing in the Record today, Health Minister Alex Neil echoed those sentiments . And Mr Harvie added: Scotland has been able to protect our public NHS so far, but without control of Scotlands finances and our own voice on the European stage, the danger of losing that ability is very real. I dont want to wake up a few years down the line and regret missing our one chance to keep the NHS we value. Fraser Bremner MR McCONNELL WHO LIEING YOU OR ANDY BURNAM Mr McConnell dismissed the Yes camps claims as a desperate tactic and said devolution had allowed Scotland to go its own way in improving the health service in areas such as the smoking ban and free personal care. He said: It is because the Scottish Parliament has power over the health service that the NHS in Scotland is not following the privatisation route favoured by Westminster. Scotlands NHS has been safe in the hands of the Scottish Parliament. Even the SNP boast about that. After four different First Ministers and five different Health Ministers our Parliaments record on health is without question our own responsibility and has been achieved without interference. The idea that Home Rule inside the UK threatens the Scottish NHS is a lie. A big huge lie. It is their very own NHS - National Hysterical Soundbite. It is a diversion, a desperate tactic. Having criticised others for negative campaigning, it shames the Yes campaign. And it avoids the questions they must answer before 18 September if Scots are to believe the NHS is safe in their hands.
Posted on: Sun, 31 Aug 2014 11:11:30 +0000
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