Politicseu us trade agreementuk labourUK Labour Party

Cameron Sacked The Guy Meant To Protect The NHS In Controversial TTIP Trade Deal

Dave Sacked The Guy Who Was Meant To Save The NHS From Privatisation
Asa Bennett
|
Open Image Modal
LONDON, ENGLAND - JANUARY 19: Conservative party leader, David Cameron (L), beside Shadow Chancellor George Osborne, introduces Ken Clarke (R) to his economic team at Portcullis House on January 19, 2009 in London, England. Mr Clarke returns to the Conservative front bench to assume the role of Shadow Business Secretary. (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)
Oli Scarff via Getty Images

David Cameron no longer has a cabinet minister responsible for the controversial trade deal that critics fear could open up the NHS to "irreversible" privatisation.

Ken Clarke oversaw the negotiations of the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) negotiations as minister without portfolio. However, the former Tory chancellor was reshuffled out of government in July, with the Prime Minister so far not giving the responsibility to another cabinet minister.

The deal has attracted controversy due to the apparent secrecy of its negotiations and the fear that the NHS could be opened up to US companies in an "irreversible" privatisation process.

Unite union general secretary Len McCluskey told the Huffington Post UK: “The fact that Cameron has failed to name a minister responsible for TTIP only adds to the confusion coming from Whitehall. Our call for a clear NHS exemption has been met with a series of contradicting statements and evasive answers.

"First David Cameron claims that there are no exemptions, then EU Trade Commission Karel De Gucht suggests that the NHS may have been exempted. Now civil servants are sending out statements claiming that the NHS was never in TTIP to begin with. It seems the government simply does not know what the world’s largest bilateral trade deal actually covers.

"What is clear is that David Cameron can choose to exempt the NHS if he’s prepared to fight for it. He was prepared to go to Europe to defend bankers’ bonuses; will he act now and insist on an exemption for the NHS, before our local services are permanently sold off to predatory American corporations?”

Supporters of the EU-US trade deal point to an assurance given by Europe's lead negotiator, Ignacio Garcia Bercero, that the NHS "can be fully safeguarded". However, concern remains as Bercero said that health remained "within the scope" of the negotiations.

9 Problems You Didn't Know About The TTIP US-EU Deal
The UK could be sued for risking company profits (01 of09)
Open Image Modal
Thanks to the proposed deal's "Investor State Dispute Settlement", companies will be able to sue governments whose regulations put future profits at risk. So fracking firms could take the government to court banning risky drilling, or private healthcare providers suing a government which protects the NHS.
The UK could be forced to adopt other countries' rules(02 of09)
Open Image Modal
In order to trade under the TTIP, the UK could be forced to accept rules from other countries - which doesn't bode well for people complaining about the UK having too many laws from Brussels.
Your wages will suffer(03 of09)
Open Image Modal
Unions are concerned that the weakened regulations will allow bosses to reduce wages and labour rights will suffer.
Our food regulations could be watered down (04 of09)
Open Image Modal
So far so bureaucratic, but what could this mean? Thanks to the equalization of rules between the US and EU as part of the deal, the UK could be forced to relax regulations which could see the return of banned food products in Europe like chicken bleached with chlorine and growth hormones in beef.
Our environmental standards could be undermined(05 of09)
Open Image Modal
In order to match US standards, UK could be forced to reverse its ban on asbestos - which has been linked to lung cancer and mesothelioma.
Your data could be at risk(06 of09)
Open Image Modal
US citizens do not have the same level of protection for their private data as EU citizens, so e-commerce provisions under the deal could see the safety of your private data put at risk.
Experts say the deal's benefits are "vastly overblown" (07 of09)
Open Image Modal
“An impartial reading of these key documents relating to the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership shows quite clearly that these huge figures are vastly overblown and deeply flawed,” said political scientist Dr Siles-Brügge of Manchester University.
We're in the dark about much of the deal(08 of09)
Open Image Modal
Parts of the deal will only be unveiled once they're finally agreed by European Commission and US officials.
And you can do little to stop it (09 of09)
Open Image Modal
The deal is being thrashed out in secret by few people you've actually elected. Green Party MEP Keith Taylor tells HuffPostUK: "Even my colleagues who sit on the European Parliament's Trade Committee don't get a proper look at the negotiating document, and most MEPs don't get any say on the deal until we're presented it as a fait accompli.

Labour MP John Healey urged Cameron to find a cabinet minister to oversee the trade deal negotiations, warning: "The Prime Minister should reconsider his decision and restore a top-level Cabinet role to battle for Britain on this TTIP deal. If he does not respond, then it is hard to see how he can honour his commitments a year ago at the G8 summit or how we can win over a sceptical public and powerful international interests to secure an EU-US deal that delivers for Britain.”

See also:

A Cabinet Office spokesperson confirmed that no cabinet minister would be responsible for overseeing the TTIP negotiations, with it falling to trade minister Lord Livingston.

“Lord Livingston will continue to oversee the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership as part of his role as Minister of State for Trade and Investment," the spokesperson told HuffPostUK. "He will report to members of the Cabinet – including the Prime Minister – on the progress of these negotiations as appropriate.”

Syed Kamall, leader of the Conservatives in the European Parliament, recently poured scorn on the "myths' surrounding the TTIP negotiations.

Blogging on the Huffington Post UK, he wrote: "If the TTIP negotiations cover issues other than trade, it becomes known as a "mixed agreement" and will have to be ratified by the British Parliament.

"Democratic oversight and transparency is a core shared objective of the parties and Members of the European Parliament across the political spectrum are closely monitoring the different stages of the process in order to inform our citizens and to engage them in the process."

Suggest a correction
|
Submit a tip