David Cameron rejects Labour calls to axe private care bill

David Cameron has said Labour leader Ed Milliband is more interesting in saving his own leadership than the changes of the Health and Social Care bill.

As the Bill returned to the House of Lords, the Prime Minister was asked by Labour MPs including Mr Milliband to drop their plans for overhauling the NHS.

Mr Milliband said the Prime Minister had reneged on his promise not to perform a "top-down re-organisation of the NHS" and added: "Every day he fights for this bill, every day trust in him on the NHS ebbs away, every day it becomes clearer the NHS is not safe in his hands."

"Why won't he just give up and stop wasting billions and drop his bill?"

Mr Cameron responded: "This is not a campaign to save the NHS, this is a campaign to try and save his leadership. I make this prediction, the NHS will go on getting better and his prospects will go on getting worse."

Labour has opposed the government's plans to allow hospitals to generate up to 49% of their income from private patients, on the condition that it is then used within the health service.

The government has added 137 amendments to the bill recently in a bid to try to prevent a rebellion by Liberal Democrat peers in the House of Lords.

Share this page