Unite’s Len McCluskey
A consultation by the European Commission has revealed huge opposition among the public over the controversial trade deal called TTIP.
The Commission received an unprecedented 150,000 responses – over a third from the UK – mainly opposing the so-called Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership, which threatens the NHS with irreversible privatisation.
Unite general secretary, Len McCluskey said: “The people of this country do not believe it is right for the NHS to be part of a US trade deal. Britain expects David Cameron to stand up for the NHS and use his veto in Europe to get the NHS out of TTIP.
“Unite has polled 17 Tory seats including David Cameron’s and Jeremy Hunt’s seats. In every case voters oppose the NHS being part of TTIP.
“The NHS unites this country, it is the single most important local issue for voters. The Prime Minister has cut himself adrift from public opinion by refusing to listen. Britain is demanding that he uses his veto.”
The trade deal is being negotiated behind closed doors, between EU bureaucrats and delegates from the United States. It is the largest bilateral trade deal ever negotiated and threatens to make the ongoing privatisation of the NHS irreversible by giving the profits of corporations precedence over national lawmakers. TTIP could grant American multinationals, or any firm with American investors, the power to sue the government if it ever attempted to take privatised health services back into public ownership.
