If public healthcare in the UK is so bad -- how come British Conservatives support it?

[Apollo11]

Here is a post that the leader of the Conservative Party, David Cameron, posted on his party's website ...
(Don't forget this is the party of Winston Churchill and Margaret Thatcher)

The Blue Blog (Blue is the Conservatives' color in Great Britain)

We are proud of the National Health Service

David Cameron, Thursday, August 13 2009

I've been enjoying the sun and touring my beautiful constituency (district) of Witney today. But it goes without saying that just because I and most other politicians are not in Westminster at the moment, politics isn't somehow put on hold.

People still care about the issues they care about, and thanks to the internet they can voice their concerns whenever they want. Just look at all the support which the NHS has received on Twitter over the last couple of days. It is a reminder - if one were needed - of how proud we in Britain are of the NHS.

Millions of people are grateful for the care they have received from the NHS - including my own family. One of the wonderful things about living in this country is that the moment you're injured or fall ill - no matter who you are, where you are from, or how much money you've got - you know that the NHS will look after you.

That's why we as a Party are so committed not just to the principles behind the NHS, but to doing all we can to improve the way it works in practice. So yes, we will spend more on the NHS, but we will also improve it so that it is more efficient and responsive to patients. People working on the frontline will actually be able get on with the job they signed up for, without getting tied up in a web of targets. And we will put more power in the hands of patients by giving them better information about the care they can expect to receive.

Underlying these reforms, and our whole approach to the NHS, will be one big ambition - that future generations will be even prouder of the NHS than we are today.

http://www.conservatives.com/News/Blogs/We_are_proud_of_the_NHS.aspx

Today David Cameron has gone on BBC TV to denounce Daniel Hannan, a Conserative Member of the European Parliament, for criticizing Britain's National Health Service. The Conservative leader branded Hannan's views on the NHS "eccentric" and insisted he did not agree with them.

See the coverage in the UK media:

The Independent: David Cameron slaps down Tory MEP Daniel Hannan over NHS attack
The Guardian: Cameron rebukes Tory MEP who rubbished NHS in America
BBC News: NHS attack by MEP 'unpatriotic'

One of the reasons why Cameron is speaking out is that in Britain you cannot get elected if you disagree with public single-payer healthcare provision ("socialized medicine").

Disclaimer: most Brits will admit their healthcare system is not the best in the world (compared with other western European countries). For example it is very difficult to get all your dental work done through the NHS so many people have to pay for their own dental treatment.

[blm]

1. Great point.

.

[doc03]

2. Why aren't they rioting in the streets or

on a nationwide strike if they are so unhappy with their system? Why in the hell haven't the French went on a national strike if they are dissatisfied with their health-care, the French strike if they make them work a 40 hour week?

[Libertas1776]

3. Probably

because once it passed, everybody had it. Everyone there is so used to it, no politician would dare touch it. Its just like Eisenhower once said: "Should any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear of that party again in our political history." The same can be said for Medicare. And if the US had the equivalent of the NHS, you can bet you would have to pry it from the cold dead hands of most Americans, including most of those screaming right wing idiots at the town halls, if you every tried to get rid of it.

The real problem is just trying to get the damn thing in the first place. That's the greatest hurdle of them all.

[vadawg]

5. yup the NHS is the third rail of British politics,,

no one would try to abolish it now that its part of the social fabric,

[loyalkydem]

4. Nice

this post gets a rec from me.

[nightgaunt]

6. Cluster Fox and Hanna

I wondered where they found that slob. I know they won't have
on Cameron or anyone else who does support their healthcare
system. Or conversely the long line of people who are abused
by our Death Care system. [b[At least 273 a day die (2006) or
about 99,645 a year die as counted.[/b] Not suicides. Where is
the horror in that number? But then too many people are
searching for work, or are working hard to keep their jobs so
marching in the streets is out of the question. Going to town
meetings is good. As long as they aren't shut down by
protesters there to do just that. Shout fests are useless for
anything but disruption.

It would be a miracle if we did get something close to Single
Payer in these times of continuing growth of fascism and
imperial military expansion globally. And Costing nearly a
Trillion dollars a year to keep it going. A time that tries
human's souls. With apologies to Thomas Paine.

You know Obama isn't a liberal or Progressive don't you?
Kucinich is and that is why he isn't president.

[girl gone mad]

7. k & r

[painey]

8. bloody topics

bear in mind that the "conservatives" as they are known are not even comparable to American conservatives. the only true "conservative" hannan has proven himself to be a moron.

[magellan]

9. Most of the problems with the NHS are the result of privatization

...of various parts of it, and underfunding by the government. It was a great system, though, for nearly 40 years...until the corporations were allowed to sink their teeth in for "cost savings". LOL Same old lie....

[Apollo11]

10. I totally kicked my own thread ...

Just to mention that when the NHS was set up after World War 2 - there was a lot of opposition from the Conservative Party and from medical professionals (doctors). But after a few years they calmed down (after seeing how positive most voters felt about the benefits of publicly-funded healthcare provision).

[LeftishBrit]

11. k&r

No major politician in the UK would dare to recommend abolition of the NHS. (Hannan isn't a major politician; he's a nutcase.) They would practically be sent to the Tower for high treason - OK, I exaggerate but only a little!

Once universal healthcare has been established in a democratic country, it's almost impossible to get rid of it, even if a conservative party gets in. The crucial step is establishing it in the first place.