Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Rehman Chishti MP: Why we should celebrate the NHS at 70

by REHMAN CHISHTI

Conservative MP for Gillingham and Rainham and party vice-chairman for communities


THIS week we wish our beloved NHS a happy 70th birthday. The NHS first came into being on July 5, 1948.

This was an innovative and pioneering move all those years ago, in a country that was still feeling the effects of World War II, and was not instantly met with widespread support.

However, this radical idea – embodying respect, warmth and compassion for others – underpins society’s deepest constructs.

Seventy years later, the NHS is viewed as our most-loved British institution – and rightly so. The NHS is a service of which we should all be immensely proud. Back then it marked the first time, anywhere in the world, that free healthcare was made available to everyone on the basis of citizenship rather than the payment of fees or insurance.

Since the NHS’s inception there have been advances in every field of medicine, and people are now living 13 years longer than at the end of the 1940s. At the core of the story of the NHS is its impact on the nation’s health.

A few months ago I, along with my co-vice chair for communities, Helen Grant, visited Cancer Research UK in London.

The UK’s treatment of cancer is a world-class operation and survival rates are at a record high, but we know there is still a long way to go. Engaging in discussions there was

eye-opening - not just as a parliamentarian, but as someone who has close friends that have suffered with cancer.

Sadly, awareness of cancer risks and symptoms can be lower in those of us from BAME groups and we are often less likely to go for cancer screening. Our ability to detect

and treat the disease in the very early stages is crucial in fighting this disease. I am very pleased to see that survival rates are increasing with early diagnosis but I accept and understand we need to do more.

I hosted a cancer research parliamentary reception in parliament. I just want to take this opportunity to thank all the amazing voluntary organisations supporting the great work of the NHS.

Earlier this year, prime minister Theresa May set out ambitious new plans to help thousands of men with prostate cancer to get treated earlier and faster. It shows huge

recognition of the seriousness of prostate cancer, and a renewed focus to stop it from being a killer.

Our NHS – free at the point of delivery – is blessed with phenomenal doctors, nurses and researchers who give their heart and soul to their patients. The service you receive does not discriminate on your background; whether you are rich or poor, care is the same for us all. It is right that we take the opportunity to recognise and thank the extraordinary people who are there to help us every day.

To mark its 70th birthday, the prime minister has announced a historic long-term funding boost and a ten year plan for the health service. This will see the NHS budget increase in real terms by over £20 billion a year, over the next five years.

Only the Conservatives are taking a balanced approach to the economy so that we can make sure we can fund our vital public services properly.

The NHS is the best of us, not just as a concept but for its people too. It was the amazing NHS and its staff which helped save my eye sight when I had a detached retina and saved the life of my nine-year-old nephew when he was seriously ill in hospital.

We all have our own experiences and I know we all will be wishing the NHS a very happy birthday.

More For You

F-35B jet

The UK has agreed to move the aircraft to the Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) facility at the airport.

Indian Air Force

F-35B jet still stranded in Kerala, UK sends engineers for repair

UK AVIATION engineers are arriving in Thiruvananthapuram to carry out repairs on an F-35B Lightning jet belonging to the Royal Navy, which has remained grounded after an emergency landing 12 days ago.

The jet is part of the HMS Prince of Wales Carrier Strike Group of the UK's Royal Navy. It made the emergency landing at Thiruvananthapuram airport on June 14. The aircraft, valued at over USD 110 million, is among the most advanced fighter jets in the world.

Keep ReadingShow less
Ahmedabad air crash
Relatives carry the coffin of a victim, who was killed in the Air India Flight 171 crash, during a funeral ceremony in Ahmedabad on June 15, 2025. (Photo: Getty Images)

Ahmedabad crash: Grief, denial and trauma haunt families

TWO weeks after the crash of Air India flight AI-171 in Ahmedabad, families of victims are grappling with grief and trauma. Psychiatrists are now working closely with many who continue to oscillate between denial and despair.

The crash occurred on June 12, when the London-bound flight hit the BJ Medical College complex shortly after takeoff, killing 241 people on board and 29 on the ground. Only one passenger survived.

Keep ReadingShow less
Starmer apologises for 'island of strangers' immigration speech

Prime minister Keir Starmer delivers a speech at The British Chambers of Commerce Global Annual Conference in London on June 26, 2025. (Photo by EDDIE MULHOLLAND/AFP via Getty Images)

Starmer apologises for 'island of strangers' immigration speech

PRIME MINISTER Sir Keir Starmer has admitted he was wrong to warn that Britain could become an "island of strangers" due to high immigration, saying he "deeply" regrets the controversial phrase.

Speaking to The Observer, Sir Keir said he would not have used those words if he had known they would be seen as echoing the language of Enoch Powell's notorious 1968 "rivers of blood" speech.

Keep ReadingShow less
Sir Sajid Javid leads commission 'tackling social divisions'

Sir Sajid Javid (Photo by Tom Nicholson-WPA Pool/Getty Images)

Sir Sajid Javid leads commission 'tackling social divisions'

A cross-party group has been formed to tackle the deep divisions that sparked last summer's riots across England. The new commission will be led by former Tory minister Sir Sajid Javid and ex-Labour MP Jon Cruddas.

The Independent Commission on Community and Cohesion has backing from both prime minister Sir Keir Starmer and Tory leader Kemi Badenoch. It brings together 19 experts from different political parties and walks of life.

Keep ReadingShow less
​Masum

Masum was seen on CCTV trying to steer the pram away and, when she refused to go with him, stabbed her multiple times before walking away and boarding a bus. (Photo: West Yorkshire Police)

West Yorkshire Police

Habibur Masum convicted of murdering estranged wife in front of baby

A MAN who stabbed his estranged wife to death in Bradford in front of their baby has been convicted of murder.

Habibur Masum, 26, attacked 27-year-old Kulsuma Akter in broad daylight on April 6, 2024, stabbing her more than 25 times while she pushed their seven-month-old son in a pram. The baby was not harmed.

Keep ReadingShow less