The English patient
New plans for the National Health Service contain much that is sensible—but little that is truly radical
NIGEL LAWSON, a former Tory chancellor, once observed that the National Health Service is “the closest thing the English have to a religion”. The Labour Party's election campaign in 1997 was founded on a claim to be the true defender of the faith. The day before the vote, Labour put out the message that voters had “24 hours to save the NHS”.
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “The English patient”
From the July 29th 2000 edition
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