One of the biggest challenges for the moderate right is the desacralisation of the National Health Service. Such a challenge is supported by the exaggerated response from the Labour party to Dan Hannan's harsh criticism. Labour have naturally moved to exploit this crisis. A heady brew of Tory division, anti-Americanism and appearing on the side of the public have all contributed to talking heads popping up on the media. Andy Burnham has shifted from a defence to the argument that any criticism of the NHS is unpatriotic.
And he hit back at criticism that the government had not done enough to defend the NHS from attacks in the US, saying: "We will stand up for the NHS and we will make sure that it is properly represented in the international media. And that is why what Mr Hannan has done disappoints me so much.
"I would almost feel... it is unpatriotic because he is talking in foreign media and not representing, in my view, the views of the vast majority of British people and actually, I think giving an unfair impression of the National Health Service himself, a British representative on foreign media."
"I would almost feel... it is unpatriotic because he is talking in
foreign media and not representing, in my view, the views of the vast
majority of British people and actually, I think giving an unfair
impression of the National Health Service himself, a British
representative on foreign media."
It is a good thing that Andy Burnham's view does not count for much, since he wishes to remove the NHS from the sphere of political debate. The longer that Labour can maintain this stance, the longer that severe questions such as why other people with cancer survive longer in other countries does not need to be answered.
Labour's problem is that their party political defence of the NHS both sacralizes the institution in rhetoric and desacralizes it at the same time, due to its partisan association. Hence, the epithet: Labour's NHS. The sanctimonious defence is, potentially, a sign of weakness. Like other features of their 30 years in power, Labour hope to 'lock-in' their statism, but only have their say, since their actions count for nothing.