DECAYING and decrepit are the words that jump to mind whenever a mention is made of the United Kingdom (of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, no less) and this can be attributed to the 14 years of Conservative rule that catered primarily to the needs of the few.

It is abundantly clear that from a social welfare state in the post-war years, it has now regressed to letting the less fortunate, the have-nots fend for themselves. The British pride, the National Health Service (NHS), the prime example, is in tatters, having been systematically deprived of adequate funding.

There was method to this madness. It was aimed at failing the state-run system and promoting and giving an ever-growing stake to the private sector companies in the health sector. This, despite the American example of a similar private sector-run system, which may provide state-of-the-art healthcare to those who can pay, but leaves millions without any cover because they can’t afford it.

Despite the growing footprint of the private, profit-driven, companies by stealth in the UK, the Tories continued to harp on about a system that was ‘free at the point of delivery’. That it may be so but gross underfunding of the NHS has created an existential crisis for it. And many on the right see a quick fix in an ever-great private sector role.

It is abundantly clear that from a social welfare state in the post-war years, the UK has regressed.

All opinion surveys show a majority of Britons prefer it over any........

© Dawn