Dear Editor,
”Last week we handed over to Thurrock’s Tory MP Jackie Doyle-Price a petition signed by over 2,400 Thurrock’s residents, who pleaded her to support local communities’ call to stop further privatisation of the NHS and to take out the NHS of TTIP (Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership). It was a sad day for democracy when Ms Doyle-Price wrote in Thurrock Gazette just a couple of days later that she supports the opposite to what she was asked for; that she supports the sale of the NHS to foreign companies.
Even more shocking was her article in recent Gazette where she wrote about her constituents who are concerned about the NHS that ‘’they are a bunch of left wing propagandists’’ who ‘’should be ashamed of themselves’’. I think Miss Doyle-Price should be ashamed of herself for the way she handled this.
We feel very disappointed, not only that Ms Doyle-Price did not even try to listen to us and to consider our plea, but also about her firm stance on issue such dear to us. Ms Doyle-Price tries to put wool over the eyes of her constituents but if you unwrap it, this is what she strongly supports: the TTIP means a treaty between the EU and the US, which will give the power to foreign corporations to not only take over public services, but also to sue the British government if those contracts will go wrong or if will disadvantage those companies.
In short, Ms Doyle-Price supports the NHS to be taken over by foreign companies, who could sue our government for millions of taxpayers’ money. However if American companies will run our life saving and healthcare services, will they have the good of our people at heart or the profits going to stakeholders living somewhere in the U.S. or in tax heavens? And why shall we subsidise the profits of foreign corporations in the first place? As Ms Doyle-Price is a government whip, which means her role is to ensure that Tory MPs vote as they are told by their party, shall we assume that this government is secretly (or not so) supporting the sale of the NHS?”
Ella Vine
