As a former adviser to Sajid Javid – no, the goal of the Tories isn’t to sell off the NHS

I have yet to meet a Conservative who doesn’t love the health service every bit as much as their nearest political opponent, writes Salma Shah

The NHS has held strong amid the Covid crisis (PA)

When Margaret Thatcher superfan Sajid Javid (for whom I was a special adviser from 2018 to 2019) was named as health secretary to replace Matt Hancock, there was the usual Westminster clamour to work out his precise views on everything. What had he said previously about lockdowns? Did he have a particular approach on social care? And how would his free-market credentials risk the sanctity of the NHS?

The latter is the all too predictable attack from the left wing of the Labour Party. Former leader Jeremy Corbyn tweeted in his usual disappointed tone: “My message to Sajid Javid today: remember you are now the secretary of state for health and social care – not the minister for selling off our NHS or gifting contracts to your mates in banking and finance.” This cynical warning received more than 104,000 likes despite the false premise of the statement.

Not the minister for selling off the NHS? What does he think might happen? The new team at the health department will just decide that we don’t need the NHS any more and, through sheer ideological fervour, sell it? Does he imagine a new rental scheme where we time-share our sick beds? Perhaps Jeremy is worried about supplies ending up on eBay? We just don’t know.

The problem with this criticism is not only that it’s hollow but that it could, in fact, be dangerous. The Conservatives, having been in power in one form or another for over a decade, have not flogged the NHS, but the imaginary bogeymen conjured up prevent the NHS from being able to do the things it needs to in order to stay efficient.

Take, for example, the recent announcement over opt-out on patient data-sharing. A moral panic is created about the risks of data being “sold off” before anyone asks about the safeguards that have been put in place to protect records, or indeed an assessment of how a move like this could transform healthcare for the better.

There is a place for robust questioning – which should be welcomed wholeheartedly when it comes to topics as sensitive as individual health – but the overall effect of the carping is that the NHS, under fire, shelves or slows things of fundamental importance.

We all love the NHS. It’s why the nation didn’t hesitate to protect it when asked and why we gave up our freedoms during the Covid-19 crisis. However, because our health systems are so valuable, we have to recognise it’s a large, complex organisation that is constantly evolving and needs to keep a pace with changes in the world.

Tory critics rush to warn of the “privatisation” of the NHS; again, what is the specific concern? The NHS will remain free at the point of use. If this pandemic has taught us anything, it’s that our model of health service is a core function of our society. So what, realistically, is the problem? The private sector did a great deal to support the NHS. Is that an issue? It feels weak.

I have yet to meet a Tory who doesn’t love the NHS every bit as much as their nearest political opponent. It’s not a pretence or a public line. We turn to the health service in our time of need.

It's often where we are most vulnerable and therefore genuine, so it’s time for critics to put some real effort into their arguments before this pantomime privatisation line gets any older.

Salma Shah was special adviser to Sajid Javid from 2018 to 2019. She was also a special adviser at the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport