Local opposition to the controversial NHS reforms put forward by the Coalition government grew last week when the Shipley Labour party unanimously passed a motion at their General Committee meeting opposing the plans.

The reforms, being pushed by Conservative Health Secretary, Andrew Lansley, will put £80 billion of the NHS budget into the hands of GPs and open up the NHS to European Competition Law, allowing private contractors to bid for services on cost basis rather than quality as happens currently.

The motion was put forward by local member, Mike Young, a mental health professional with 35 years experience. He said “The NHS needs stability. The proposed NHS changes are an untried and expensive experiment. They will lead to a privatised, American-style health system which favours the better off.”

The Coalition plans have been opposed by a wide range of experts, from the Royal College of Midwives in London to the British Medical Association and even Conservative MP, Dr Sarah Wollaston, who is also a GP and described the plans as though someone had ‘tossed a grenade’ at the NHS.

The Prime Minister, David Cameron has said that ‘we cannot afford not to reform the NHS’ but former Foreign Secretary and ex-Labour Leadership hopeful, David Miliband said the choice was ‘between good reform and bad reform’ and described the current NHS reforms as ‘a poison pill for our National Health Service’.