July 5^th was the 75^th birthday of our fantastic National Health Service, founded in 1948 by Clement Atlee’s post-war Labour Government despite the Tories voting against it a staggering twenty-two times. Since then the NHS has transformed millions of lives, providing cradle to grave care that remains free at the point of delivery.

But the NHS is in more danger than ever before, with 13 years of Coalition and Conservative Governments leaving it under-funded, under-staffed and over-stretched. 75 years later the Tories still don’t value our health service. Waiting lists have soared to over 7.4 million, or one in eight of the population. These figures, the worst since records began in 2007, are only going up. Mental health figures for Garston and Halewood are appalling, with over 15,000 children and double the number of adults waiting for mental health support. I have heard from constituents who have spent days, not hours, in A&E waiting rooms just to be seen. The Tory’s model of the NHS is far from Nye Bevan’s original vision.

I was pleased to wish the NHS a happy birthday and to thank their dedicated staff for the invaluable work they do. I’ve seen that recently when visiting the new Royal Liverpool and in community at Bridge Chapel’s Breathe Clinic. Staff go above and beyond despite high pressure and low wages but the Tories still see it as little more than a cash-cow that, if they had their way, would be split-up and sold off to private medical companies for profit.

I will always champion our NHS and fight for its future so that it can continue to care for us for another 75 years and beyond. Thank you to their incredible staff for all that they do for us.