On Wednesday 21 January 2026, despite wind and rain, local supporters of SHA, Stop the War and CND had a lively discussion for nearly three hours, inspiringly led off by Rathi Guhadasan, SHA chair, and Bell Ribeiro-Addy, MP for Clapham and Brixton Hill.
Rathi underlined that military spending was projected to soar while healthcare spending is stagnating, when inflation, population growth and average age is taken into account. What is more, any growth in healthcare investment is mostly now reserved to wealthy private investors who are paid much more by the NHS than their outlay and much more than if the NHS had made the investment itself.
Weirdly, the government struggles daily to manufacture demand for arms, for which money is no object, while demand for healthcare facilities never needs inventing and is always poorly met, the cost being invariably begrudged. In addition, increasingly, the future of the NHS is being made conditional on corrupting ‘revolving door’ and political donation practices long seen when it comes to the army, navy and airforce.
The discussion highlighted specifics which those present had knowledge of – waiting lists that aren’t really shrinking, nursing and ancillary staff vacancies, unemployed and undertrained doctors, corridor treatment, closures. Some things never change. The NHS depends as ever on immigrants, as Bell underlined. Far from being a burden to it, they prop it up. But what has changed, she added, is subordination to the United States, which has long been a feature of Britain’s military but is now extensively infecting the NHS. This needs to end.
Other parts of London and indeed other branches around Britain are recommended to reproduce this meeting, working with the local peace movement and trade unions too. It will not only focus campaiging but also bring in new blood. Five new activists provided their contact details.
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