Lord Owen, the Social Democrat Party (SDP) leader, who left the Labour party in 1981 because of its resistance to reform has recently donated 7,500 pounds to Labour. The Labour leader Ed Miliband has received the backing of 86% of his party for his proposed leadership voting reforms, which have implications for Labour’s ability to fundraise and traditional trade union power.
Lord Owen has seen this as a convenient time to award a donation to his old party saying that; “this is a bold and brave reform’ and ‘to help Labour reverse the 2012 NHS legislation...I have made a declarable contribution of over 7,500 Pounds to Labour funds.’ The former neurologist has been among the most ardent critics of the NHS legislation stating that ‘saving the NHS is my main political priority.’
Yet it is unclear if the trade agreement is ratified, whether or not the NHS will be exempt. Labour’s health minister Andy Burnham has called for the NHS to be exempted from the agreement, while a precedent in the form of the Canadian-EU trade agreement saw health provision removed from the list of Investor rights. US companies have higher expectations, probably spurred on by David Cameron writing in the Wall Street Journal that ‘everything must be on the table’.