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Tory MPs vote down legal bid to protect the NHS in a US trade deal

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Tory MPs defeated a Labour amendment to include 'cast-iron' guarantees for the health service in the Trade Bill - as well as one designed to avoid chlorine-washed chickenTory MPs last night voted down a legal bid to protect the NHS in a future trade deal with the US. put forward an amendment to the Trade Bill which would have barred any deal which "undermines or restricts" a comprehensive public-funded health service, free at the point of delivery. The amendment would have banned any deal that undermined the ability "to maintain the quality and safety of health or care services". It would also have legally guaranteed the UK's ability to control the pricing of medicines, and maintained the current level of protection for patient data. But Tory MPs voted the amendment down - along with a separate Labour bid to keep "chlorine-washed" chicken and other poor-quality US foods out of the UK. Tory ministers insisted the amendments were not needed - as they've repeatedly said no element of the NHS will be up for grabs in a future trade deal, and standards will not be lowered.Read MoreRelated ArticlesRead MoreRelated Articlessaid last year "everything with the trade deal is on the table", before U-turning and saying of the NHS: "I don’t see it being on the table. "That's something that I would not consider part of trade. That’s not trade." And said in October: "In any future trade negotiations with our country, our national health service will never be on the table." But Shadow Trade Minister Bill Esterson told the House of Commons he put forward the amendment because "the threat to our NHS is right at the top of the list." Mr Esterson said last night: "The Prime Minister told us he favours a social insurance system in his Daily Telegraph article, so when Ministers tell us not to worry about the NHS, it simply will not wash. "Statements alone are worthless. It is very simple: the detailed text of all agreements must include cast-iron commitments. "Because it is not just the Prime Minister who wants to hand over our NHS to the healthcare corporations; it is his friend the US President, and it is in the US negotiating objectives, which refer to 'full market access for US products'. "They want access to NHS medicines and more, and they are not shy about saying so."Labour MP Kate Jarrow told MPs: "For the President of the United States the interests of corporate America come first. "He will demand that the NHS pays higher prices for US drugs in a trade deal with the UK. "As the Bill currently stands, it gives no protection to our NHS. "We know that our NHS has already been turned into a market, making services vulnerable to being included in the deal unless they are clearly and comprehensively excluded. "I can see no evidence so far that the Government want to ring-fence the NHS and keep it out of trade discussions." Yet Trade Minister Greg Hands blasted Labour's claims as "myths". He told the Commons: "The NHS remains protected and will never be on the table at any trade deal, and that includes the prices we pay for drugs." The amendment was voted down by 340 votes to 251. Labour, the Lib Dems, , Greens, DUP and Plaid Cymru all voted for the amendment but 335 Tories, plus ex-Tory Julian Lewis, voted against it. A number of Conservative MPs abstained, but none voted against the amendment. Tory MPs also defeated a string of other amendments - including one designed to keep US chlorine-washed chicken out of the UK. Labour's amendment would have barred any food imports unless they were produced with "as high as, or higher than, standards which at the time of import applied under UK law". But Mr Hands said: "That could have massive unforeseen consequences. "The Opposition think they are talking about chlorinated chicken and hormone-treated beef. "But are they actually able to look people in the eye and say that cocoa from the Ivory Coast has been produced to at least as high environmental standards as in the UK? "Are they able to say that beans from Egypt are being produced to at least as high labour standards? "Are they able to say that tea from Sri Lanka comes with the same high labour standards? "I think they are putting a lot of this country’s existing trade at risk." That amendment was defeated by 251 votes to 337. Two Tory MPs - Simon Hoare and Neil Hudson - rebelled to vote with Labour. Naomi Smith, chief executive of anti-Brexit group Best for Britain, said: “This amendment should not have been opposed by a government that wants us to uphold democracy and take back control."

Tory MPs defeated a Labour amendment to include 'cast-iron' guarantees for the health service in the Trade Bill - as well as one designed to avoid chlorine-washed chickenTory MPs last night voted down a legal bid to protect the NHS in a future trade deal with the US. put forward an amendment to the Trade Bill which would have barred any deal which "undermines or restricts" a comprehensive public-funded health service, free at the point of delivery. The amendment would have banned any deal that undermined the ability "to maintain the quality and safety of health or care services". It would...

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Dan Bloom

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Tory MPs vote down legal bid to protect the NHS in a US trade deal

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