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UUP's link with Tories in spotlight over NHS
Saturday, 15 August 2009
The transatlantic health care row has spilled over to Stormont, with the DUP challenging the Ulster Unionists on the anti-NHS comments of Tory MEP Dan Hannan.
DUP MP Jeffrey Donaldson said: “The UUP, who are in a political marriage with the Tories at Europe, where Mr Hannan is a representative, have questions to answer.”
He added: “Having opposed the establishment of the NHS more than 60 years ago, it is clear that some leading Tories have yet to accept the concept of free healthcare for everyone.
"Does Michael McGimpsey agree with the assessment of his Tory colleague Dan Hannan that the NHS was a 60 year mistake, or what about Jim Nicholson who sits with Hannan in the Conservative and Unionist delegation in the European Parliament?”
Hitting back, UUP MLA John McCallister said: “The Ulster Unionist Party will take no lectures from the DUP on the NHS.
“It was an Ulster Unionist government which first brought the NHS to Northern Ireland and ensured everyone here had access to health care from the cradle to the grave.
"It is an Ulster Unionist Health Minister, Michael McGimpsey, who fought against the attempts by the DUP to dramatically reduce Northern Ireland’s health budget in 2007/08.”
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