Natalie Bennett, Leader of the Green Party of England and Wales, spoke at a rally and march against student bursary cuts last weekend. In advance of the actions, Bennett, who will march alongside nurses, midwives and allied healthcare professionals, said: “The government’s plans to scrap the National Health Service bursary and replace it with loans is yet another assault on our ailing health service. Nurses and midwifes form the backbone of the NHS and funding for them to train to care must be protected."
“Nurses and midwives perform essential work which contributes towards a caring, compassionate society. Those who wish to train so they can bathe and feed patients, administer medication, tend wounds, manage extreme emotional circumstances and visit sick people in their homes simply must be supported.”
“I, along with members of my party, will be marching in solidarity with existing and prospective NHS workers who are now sick and tired of the government’s refusal to see a NHS bursary as an investment, rather than a cost.”
Sian Berry, the Green Party candidate for Mayor of London, will also address the rally.
The Green Party stands in solidarity with the wider movement to defend our NHS.
Bennett added:
"Campaigners have been highlighting for years, over successive governments, the way in which privatisation has been fragmenting and damaging our health service, but it is now becoming evident that the government's desire to hand our public service over to the profit-driven health multinationals is cutting the pay and conditions of staff."
