Thread by @docrussjackson

#Thread

So @Keir_Starmer's promise to do everything necessary to save OUR #NHS got me thinking about Blairite Alan Milburn, Secretary of State for Health from 1999 to 2003, charged with "modernising" OUR NHS & driving through Private Finance Initiative (PFI) deals on hospitals.

In 2002 Milburn introduced #NHS foundation trusts, "described at the time as a sort of halfway house between the public & private sectors".

The government increased expenditure on the NHS, although the public was sceptical over claims of improved performance.

Following his resignation as Secretary of State for Health Milburn took a £30,000/yr post as an advisor to Bridgepoint Capital, a venture capital firm which financed private health-care firms moving into the #NHS, including Alliance Medical, Match Group, Medica & Robinia Care.

He returned briefly to government in September 2004, but on election night in 2005, he announced he would be leaving the Cabinet for a second time, although rumours persisted that he would challenge Gordon Brown for the succession.

Milburn became the honorary president of the political organisation Progress - since May this year, "progressive Britain" - which was to the Right of the @UKLabour Party, & which between 2001 & August 2019, received almost £4.7 million in donations.

In 2007, Milburn became a paid advisor to #PepsiCo & sat on its 'nutritional advisory board', & by the time he stood down from parliament, Milburn had an income at least £115,000 a year from five companies.

Second jobs? Some things don't change eh...

web.archive.org/web/2015092400…
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Despite the change of government in May 2010, it was reported in August 2010 that Milburn had been offered a role in the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition as "social mobility tsar", provoking criticism from John Prescott & Andy Burnham, for advising the government.

David Miliband defended Milburn claiming that he was serving the country & was not working for the Coalition Government. In 2011, Milburn contributed to The Purple Book along with Peter Mandelson, Jacqui Smith, Liam Byrne, Tessa Jowell, Tristram Hunt, Rachel Reeves & Liz Kendall.

Milburn called for @UKLabour to adopt a policy of "educational credit" - parents whose children attend failing schools could withdraw their kids & get funding in order to pay for a place at a higher achieving school, with the money coming from the budget of the failing school!

In 2012, a senior Number 10 adviser called for Andrew Lansley to be "taken out & shot" for introducing the Health & Social Care bill despite widespread opposition, & that Alan Milburn should be ennobled & join the coalition government as Secretary of State for Health.

In 2013 Milburn joined one of the Big Four, the controversial hyper-capitalist PricewaterhouseCoopers, as Chair of PwC's UK Health Industry Oversight Board, whose objective is to drive change in the health sector, & assist PwC in growing its presence in the health market.

Milburn continued to be Chairman of the European Advisory Board at Bridgepoint Capital, whose activities include financing private health care companies providing services to the #NHS, & continued as a member of the Healthcare Advisory Panel at Lloyds Pharmacy.

Early in 2015, Milburn intervened in the British election campaign to criticise @UKLabour's health plans, which would limit private sector involvement in the #NHS.

Milburn was criticised for doing so while having a personal financial interest in the private health sector.

Milburn made a packet from working with private health firms & in 2015 was accused by John Prescott, of being a £1million 'Tory collaborator'. His company AM Strategy had reportedly accumulated £1,357,131 in profits by 2013 - £518,854 more than the £838,277 it made up until 2012.

In September this year, Milburn went on one of Rupert Murdoch's propaganda outlets to tell Keir Starmer to hurry up & change @UKLabour, bragging about how as Health Secretary he argued all the time with the BMA, Unions, & patient groups because he was arguing for change.

In November, Milburn went on #Newsnight: "Partnerships with the private sector are the right thing to do & it's a great irony in my view that you have a right-wing Govt that is prepared to do less work with the private sector.. than a Labour Govt in the past was able to do."

#Newsnight introduced him as "former New Labour Health Secretary", curiously neglecting to mention any of his more recent jobs.

This had also happened in October, when the Daily Telegraph interviewed him about how Boris Johnson should be giving more money to the private sector.

Milburn Chairs PwC's health industries board; advises private equity firm Bridgepoint Capital (owns one of England's largest external providers of #NHS services); is a director of Huma; & of Spanish healthcare group Ribera Salud (owned by US Centene) which owns many GP services.

FUN FACT:

Centene, a US health corporation bigger than Pepsi & Disney, is already expanding throughout the #NHS, has been repeatedly fined in its native United States for medical & financial failures, & is the 42nd-biggest firm in the US.

morningstaronline.co.uk/article/f/cent…

Milburn's consultancy AM Strategy Ltd shows profits of £1.2 million in 2021, enough to receive a dividend of £1.3million, leaving itself with more than £5million in the bank. One day the @BBC & the national press might tell viewers about his business interests.

@PrivateEyeNews🙏