TORIES PLUS TTIP EQUALS SERIOUS THREAT TO NHS AND OTHER PUBLIC SERVICES

FRIDAY’s vote on the NHS in the House of Commons brings the Tories’ desire to privatise public services back on to the news agenda.

For those who haven’t followed these developments, MPs voted in favour of a bill designed to curb the worst parts of the Health and Social Care Act that opened the door to NHS privatisation.

I delivered a 16,442-name petition to Westminster showing how strongly Derby people feel about the issue, and I dearly hope Labour’s long-running campaign to save the NHS will bear fruit.

But while talk of losing something as important as our health service is tangible and inevitably prompts a reaction, another broader issue relating to the future of public services has, to a large extent, slipped under the radar.

Many readers will not have heard of TTIP – the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership – largely because it has been negotiated behind closed doors, but it’s due to be ratified next year.

It is designed to reduce the trade barriers between the US and EU, and to that end clearly has the potential to reap many benefits on both sides of the Atlantic provided it is drawn up carefully.

But there is a reason that it is causing a rumpus among those who have delved into it most deeply.

TTIP could open all of Europe’s public services, such as the NHS and our education system, to private enterprise.

But the prospect of refocusing our public bodies on making money instead of service delivery is anathema to most British people.

Robust caveats must therefore be inserted into the agreement to ensure that doesn’t happen.

There is also a real danger that corporate interests could become deeply embroiled with our democratic processes.

Imagine the next Labour government implementing our pledge to freeze energy bills, only to find the UK being sued by the giant energy companies for loss of profits.

Yet that possibility could arise through TTIP, which proposes the creation of so-called Investor-State Dispute Settlements empowering big companies to take on nation states.

Not only would that be unthinkably bizarre, but it would also be an attack on democracy. Public policy would be stymied by a corporate agenda, giving far too much influence to multinational companies.

But perhaps the biggest question that needs to be addressed is whose interests the politicians negotiating TTIP are representing – the people who elected them or the private corporations pushing for it?

To my mind, economic development is only beneficial if it serves everyone in the chain, not just fat cat executives and wealthy shareholders.

My fear – and one shared by many commentators – is that if we are not careful TTIP will be another mechanism that widens inequality.

We cannot allow this government to use TTIP to enable the rich to get even richer, without any real impact on working people who are actually creating that wealth.

It would make the whole exercise pointless, and if the politicians locked in the secret negotiations can’t see that then TTIP – which offers so much potential – runs the risk of doing more harm than good