Dewsbury’s Tory MP, Mark Eastwood, has said he does not believe the NHS should be protected in the Trade Bill – the law which that will define the framework for every trade deal Britain makes. Sign our petition to ask him to reconsider:
The letter:
Dear Mark Eastwood MP
At the election, you stood on a platform promising to keep our NHS off the table in international trade agreements.
But your new Trade Bill will not protect our NHS from more and more privatisation by Donald Trump and private healthcare companies who are intent on profiting from our healthcare system.
Indeed, it creates a framework in which the NHS is clearly on the table.
People’s lives are at stake, now and in the future.
We ask you to support an amendment to the Trade Bill and ensure, in law, that the NHS is off the table in trade deals.
Yours sincerely
URGENT UPDATE 18 JULY 2020:
Mark Eastwood says he doesn’t support protections for the NHS in the Trade Bill or giving MPs a say over future deals. We have 3 days to change his mind.
This Monday, the 20th July, the Trade Bill is back in the House of Commons for a final time – and it contains absolutely no protection for our NHS from trade deals.
11 Tory MPs are supporting an amendment to give MPs a say over future trade deals. Will Mark Eastwood join them?
After everything our nurses, doctors and healthcare staff have done for us during this pandemic, the NHS is still very much on the table for Donald Trump and US healthcare companies to get their hands on.
Even worse, trade deals don’t even have to be approved by parliament. As it stands they can be signed off in secret without your MP having any chance to reflect your views – whether you care about ending privatisation of the NHS or chlorinated chicken.
Jonathan Djanogly, a Conservative MP, has put forward an amendment to give MPs the power to scrutinise trade deals. This gives MPs the powers they need to be able to protect our NHS.
10 other Tory MPs have signed up to the amendment along with Labour, the SNP, the Lib Dems, Plaid Cymru and the Greens.
We need 33 Tory MPs to rebel against the government to stand up for basic democratic rights and the heroes in our NHS, as well as all opposition MPs to vote for Djanogly’s amendment too.
Right now, MPs have almost no say over trade deals. The government can begin, negotiate and sign a trade deal without any involvement from MPs. That means MPs cannot protect our NHS in trade deals.
Of course, this alone won’t protect our NHS – we’ll have to keep lobbying and making sure that each trade deal that is negotiated doesn’t sneak our NHS onto the table – but it is a vital start.
This amendment is fundamental for protecting our NHS – and our democracy; tell Mark Eastwood to support it today.
Sign our petition today – and you can email him directly at mark.eastwood.mp@parliament.uk.
