New KONP Co-Chair Keith Venables Address to Members

A message to Keep Our NHS Members from Keith Venables, KONP’s new Co-Chair

Using Our Talents to Develop the KONP Strategy and Prioritise

I am looking forward to helping coordinate the work of KONP. We have a massive number of challenges to save our NHS, and a massive number of talented people across KONP to face those challenges. There are experienced thinkers and activists in every corner of KONP, and we have many allies. I agree with the Leader of the Labour Party when he says “I want a kinder politics. . . . . (we) should treat people with respect” and I also promise there will be “no rudeness from me”.

Those challenges include sharing our skills and knowledge on the many issues that confront us, including local and national campaigning on privatisation, commercialisation and cuts. Hopefully, we will focus on using the NHS Bill to build our movement and will condemn the way devolution is beginning to be used to undermine the accountability of the NHS. Some of our friends in Manchester and London are already opposing devolution.

I am particularly interested in forging links between all health workers, their unions and those who use the NHS. Regularly leafleting Derby’s Big Hospital has been particularly rewarding – these days some of the 7,000 staff who take our leaflets clearly approach us as allies, sometimes stopping to talk.

I think we need to get out simple messages, especially condemning those who have begun to buy up what they see as the profitable parts of our NHS.

We will fight, and we will win.

Keith Venables

KONP Co-Chair

Amber Valley/Derbyshire KONP