A lively discussion broke out on GB News this evening over the UK ‘nanny state’.
Ex-UKIP leader Henry Bolton, Reform MP Lee Anderson and ex-Labour MP Stephen Pound were at loggerheads about what NHS reform should look like.
It was then suggested more should be done to ensure conditions like obesity are tackled at their root, but Bolton raised concerns about the British Government becoming too much of a “nanny state” as a result.
Pound said he “loves” the idea of a nanny state, leaving Lee aghast.
Lee Anderson questioned what Stephen Pound was talking about
GB NEWS
Henry Bolton commented: “Nanny state most certainly isn’t the way to go. Look, you’re starting to control people then.
“If you take control of people’s lives, you will then have a very, very unhappy population in all sorts of respects and probably stress eating.
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Wes StreetingPA“There’s a whole lot that goes in there, but I do not think that we need a nanny state telling us what we can eat, what we can’t eat, when we should eat and how we should eat it. That would just cause ill feeling.”
Pound waded in: “I love the idea of a nanny state. I think the state has a duty to look after us.”
Lee said “I don’t know what’s going through Stephen’s mind” as he laid bare his shock at the comment.
“The British people are a bit more sensible than they’re given credit for”, Bolton hit back.
The matter was discussed on GB News
GB NEWS
“They are quite capable of making their own decisions and I have trust in British people in that sense.”
It comes after Health Secretary Wes Streeting spoke out on the crises facing the NHS, telling delegates at the Labour conference in Liverpool it’s “broken”.
Senior sources in the health service have expressed concerns about his claims potentially going too far – affecting patients’ morale as a result.
The government has recently declared cancer a “death sentence” because of NHS failings, while maternity services “shame” the nation.
Streeting told delegates in Liverpool: “I know the doctor’s diagnosis can sometimes be hard to hear.
“But if you don’t have an accurate diagnosis, you won’t provide the correct prescription.
“And when you put protecting the reputation of the NHS above protecting patients, you’re not helping the NHS, you’re killing it with kindness.
“I won’t back down. The NHS is broken, but it’s not beaten, and together we will turn it around.”