Are you lucky enough to be holidaying abroad this summer?

Then you may have missed the news from Blighty - E coli in supermarket sandwiches, sewage at the seaside, and the horrible cost of everything. But on the bright side, we are under new management. So what next?

Well first the legacy problem. High tax and debt levels and so little money  that we should not get our hopes up. But looking at the potholes, rough sleepers, crumbling hospitals and schools, and poverty, you might ask, where did all that money go, and can we get it back?

Sadly, some money was obviously needed for Covid-19, but much lined the pockets of wealthy individuals and companies. Billions were wasted, and no, we are not getting it back.

We were told that those with the broadest shoulders should contribute more. In fact, it is usually the poorer who pay proportionately more of their income in tax.

Take national insurance, levied at 8% for those earning under £50k, and 2% for those over, or council tax, levied at 0.1% of house prices in Westminster and 1.93% in Burnley. Unfair and economically nonsensical.

We were also told that the NHS is a bottomless pit, profligately spending. Not so.

Brenda Allan says that the NHS is not a bottomless spending pitBrenda Allan says that the NHS is not a bottomless spending pit (Image: George Blair)

When funded at the level of comparable countries, it was one of the best and most cost-effective systems in the world. Now, the main reason other health systems are better than ours is that they spend loads more per head, every year.

So, as the state rolled back, charities and volunteers tried to plug the gaps, but they cannot cope.

They are not just funding the innovative, ‘icing on the cake’ stuff, but running the basics, from foodbanks everywhere to libraries like Hampstead Garden Suburb, and the always underfunded hospices, like North London.

Happily, there are some win-wins. For example, every pound invested in healthcare delivers a £4 economic return, (World Health Organisation). In the UK, with 2.8 million too sick to work, and 7.8 million on waiting lists, investment in primary care delivers even more, so pays for itself (NHS Confederation).

We have choices about the sort of country we want to live in, and ours is a beautiful country, with wonderful people, worth protecting and nurturing. But that may mean tackling myths and vested interests, and not before time.

Meanwhile, if you can, please volunteer and donate.

  • Brenda Allan is a local patient campaigner.