A late game-changer in the British elections, courtesy of Trump

With only two weeks to go before Britain's general election, the Tories are on track to gain 47 seats in Parliament according to polls. Almost all of those gains will come at the expense of Labour, as years of an extremely biased and hostile press has taken its toll.
And then a bombshell landed today.

Labour has obtained official documents showing that the US is demanding that the NHS will be “on the table” in talks on a post-Brexit trade deal, Jeremy Corbyn has said.

The Labour leader said the uncensored papers gave the lie to Boris Johnson’s claims that the NHS would not be part of any trade talks, and revealed that the US wanted “total market access” after the UK leaves the EU.

“The uncensored documents leave Boris Johnson’s denials in absolute tatters,” he said at a news conference in London. “We have now got evidence that under Boris Johnson the NHS is on the table and will be up for sale. He tried to cover it up in a secret agenda and today it has been exposed.”

Corbyn said the 451 pages of documents covered six rounds of talks from July 2017 to “just a few months ago”. He said the meetings took place in Washington and London. “We are talking here about secret talks for a deal with Donald Trump after Brexit,” he said.

Responding to the Labour claims, the Conservatives said the documents had already been online for two months and were simply readouts from meetings of the UK-US trade and investment working group.

First of all, that's NOT a denial of accuracy or content, Conservatives.
Secondly, this is a BIG deal. Just look at what the other parties are saying.

Meanwhile the SNP has published its manifesto which includes a pledge to "stop the NHS becoming a lever in any international trade deal" through its NHS Protection Act.

And other parties have criticised the Tories, including Liberal Democrat shadow Brexit secretary Tom Brake, who said the public would be "horrified by what looks like a deal cooked up between the Tories and Donald Trump that puts our NHS on the table".

Former Green Party leader Caroline Lucas said the Conservative Party "can no longer claim the NHS is not for sale", adding: "Under their watch, it is."

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The NHS in Britain is like Social Security in America - no one is going to admit to wanting to gut it.
For example, consider what the hyper-capitalist Financial Times wrote this past summer.

Donald Trump made a number of contentious statements during his visit to Britain this week, but his assertion that the UK’s National Health Service would be “on the table” in discussions about any post-Brexit US-UK trade agreement was by far the most controversial.

Britons see their taxpayer-funded, free-at-the-point-of-use health system not just as a source of medical treatment but as a vital expression of national values of equity and compassion. The US health system, in contrast, is reviled as its antithesis because it links treatment to the ability to pay.

PM Boris Johnson is already denying this, but even Tory voters don't consider Johnson to be trustworthy.
Trump also backtracked on this and accused Corbyn of lying about Tory plans for NHS.

Trump, who said during a visit to Britain in June that everything including health would be on the table in trade talks but then backtracked and said health would not be, told LBC radio that Corbyn’s claim was ridiculous and he did not know where it came from.

Asked about whether the health service would be up for grabs in trade talks, Trump said: “No, not at all, we wouldn’t even be involved in that, no.”

“No. It’s not for us to have anything to do with your healthcare system,” he said. “No, we’re just talking about trade.”

Trump is a liar, and Boris Johnson is a liar.
The question is: what is more important to the British voters - a no-deal Brexit or the NHS?

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Pricknick's picture

can they have both?

a no-deal Brexit or the NHS

Thought provoking gjohn.
Thanks.

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Regardless of the path in life I chose, I realize it's always forward, never straight.

@Pricknick
you can have the NHS and a soft Brexit.

Is that close enough?

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ppnortney's picture

of Corbyn's revelation, where he showed the document he'd gotten through a Freedom of Information request, totally redacted. He recently got the unredacted copy somehow, I wonder if someone leaked it.

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The smaller the mind the greater the conceit. --Aesop

mimi's picture

a NHS healthcare system over whatever kind of Brexit. Because one thing seems to be sure, the Brexit, be it hard or soft, will make you just sicker and then the NHS healthcare system is your rescue boat to get cured appropriately.

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Cassiodorus's picture

are also telling you that the Tories are going to gain 47 seats soon.

Believe them?

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"The war on Gaza, backed by the West, is a demonstration that the West is willing to cross all lines. That it will discard any nuance of humanity. That it is willing to commit genocide" -- Moon of Alabama

@Cassiodorus
They likely under-sample young voters.

There have been 4.7m new voter registrations with 3.1m of them under 34 yrs old. On a 2017 voter turnout of 32m, new registrations are 15% of the 2017 vote.

Are the polls picking up this change in the electorate?

Young voters are massively Labour biased 60/40 vs Tories. Thats worth about 600k extra Labour votes or a 2%swing in voting bias for Labour and against the Tories. Lib Dems and SNP also benefit in addition to this.

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Shahryar's picture

@Cassiodorus

not that I love 538 but they give YouGov a B- rating. Of course those in charge will push this poll.

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Raggedy Ann's picture

for accurate reporting on the UK. The video of the Corbyn presser revealing the documents is on this site. Pleasantry

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KjmjqlOPd6A]

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"The “jumpers” reminded us that one day we will all face only one choice and that is how we will die, not how we will live." Chris Hedges on 9/11

They give the Tories a black eye without changing the status quo or giving up their eastern European scab labor,and every time a British worker has to take a pay cut he'll blame Jeremy Corbyn.

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On to Biden since 1973

@doh1304 But it sure sucks for rural England. Possibly for rural everywhere else in the UK.

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@davidgmillsatty How so?

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I found an Independent article from June regarding Trump's insistence that NHS be on the table, and IIRC, there was quite a lot of attention to that. Regardless, I'd be fine if this became a sh*tstorm.

"The NHS in Britain is like Social Security in America - no one is going to admit to wanting to gut it." Except, politicians in the U.S. have repeatedly indicated their intention to gut it. Along with Medicare, which IS being gutted via "Medicare Advantage" plans.

As for the polls, weren't they way off in a previous election? In any case, I certainly hope they are this time.

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@tle Medicare Advantage Plans, it is being gutted by higher and higher premiums, co-pays, gaps in coverage and the need for Supplemental Insurance if you want Original Medicare and not Medicare Advantage.

Medicare is getting more and more complex every day and costing more and more every year.

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@davidgmillsatty Not because of deductibles or the 20% co-pay, but because there’s no limit to the out-of-pocket. (My spouse insisted; I wouldn’t have bothered otherwise). I’d much rather be paying that money in taxes, and have no worries about being forced into bankruptcy.

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@tle n/t

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and paying 10 times too much for medications like we do in the US. And I am shocked that anyone would deprive Britains of the freedom to choose between life saving drugs and eating.

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longtalldrink's picture

@entrepreneur The more things change, the more they stay the same...hmmm?

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Well done is better than well said-Ben Franklin

@longtalldrink

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Lookout's picture

4.5 min

[video:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=po2sLf2AKzo]

This is before the release of the NHS theft proposal. Can't wait till he takes that on too.

Thanks for the info g john.

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“Until justice rolls down like water and righteousness like a mighty stream.”

These polls would be like Yambo going into October 2020 with a 10 point lead. Are the Brits this clueless or are their polls so bad and/or biased?

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