HAVE taken on board that Ukip now supports the NHS, as do all the other political parties.

A party that said it would privatise the NHS would lose support.

Of course, the NHS is not entirely safe because if Britain signs up to the free market proposals with US we shall soon find ourselves subject to an insurance-based system.

The NHS will continue as long as no Government chooses to take it off general taxation and make it subject to contributions to a private insurance scheme because they want to cut public expenditure.

It is a question of how much we can trust the existing parties and how prepared we are to rebel if they depart from the principle of taxation paying for a system where we receive health care free at the point of delivery.

The Labour Party introduced the NHS and, provided it holds true to its principles and honours what it is proclaiming now, I think it is best to support Labour - but it needs to be watched.

I will not forget the way Tony Blair and Gordon Brown were so prepared to continue with the PFI method of financing capital projects.

G Bulmer, Billingham.