After Keir Starmer purged his predecessor Jeremy Corbyn, he is running as an independent in Islington North. And the Labour Party candidate challenging Corbyn – Praful Nargund, who Starmer undemocratically imposed – is facing scrutiny over his views on the NHS and private healthcare.
Corbyn’s Labour challenger: ‘I heart private health’
Nargund said in 2015:
Privatisation of healthcare is very, very important and it’s about what the private sector can do to prove its worth to the public sector
He made the comments while giving a lecture on the benefits of private healthcare and IVF. Nargund was listed as a director of private IVF firm Create Fertility from 2014 – January 2024.
In 2018, the Guardian found Create Fertility offering a junk science ‘add on’ to its fertility treatment, one the regulator classed as ‘red’, which then meant there’s “no evidence to show it is effective and safe”.
In a more recent update, Create Fertility now denounces such add ons. A blog post states they “can add thousands of pounds to the cost but have no scientifically proven benefit and carry health risks for women”.
Accordingly, Nargund has refused to attend a healthcare hustings in Islington North. Corbyn said:
Hustings are crucial to local democracy and are an opportunity to engage with the people we are meant to represent… I am not afraid of questions. I am not afraid of discussion. I am not afraid of scrutiny. Why is the Labour candidate?
Nationally, shadow health secretary Wes Streeting wants to increase private provision of services within the NHS. An analysis from We Own It shows the cost of the NHS buying for-profit services from the private sector.
From January 2012 to May 2024, profiteers creamed £6.7bn from NHS budgets. In other words, that’s ten million a week.
“Tackle the root causes”
The election race in Islington North is high stakes. On 15 June, Corbyn hosted an NHS rally in the constituency, against cuts and privatisation of the health service:
Thank you to everyone who came to Islington North today to defend our NHS.
We are offering people something very precious: hope.
Join us again tomorrow to spread our message that a better world is possible! pic.twitter.com/ULK8XhgLXY
— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) June 15, 2024
The former Labour leader wrote in Tribune:
We will not tackle the crisis in our NHS unless we tackle the root causes of its collapse: underfunding and privatisation.
Corbyn also noted how protests he participated in stopped the planned closure of Whittington hospital A&E department in 2010. It’s part of a long history of the now-independent candidate standing up for the NHS.
Meanwhile, figures from the establishment such as anti-anti-imperialist Paul Mason and arch-Blairite spin doctor Peter Mandelson are campaigning with Nargund to unseat Corbyn.
We must ensure Corbyn wins.
Featured image via Guardian News – YouTube and Labour Party – YouTube
