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The British Prime Minister Theresa May suggested opening up her country’s free and universal healthcare system to U.S. corporations Thursday, as part of a potential trade deal with newly-elected President Donald Trump.
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When pressed on the inclusion of the U.K.'s National Health Service, commonly referred to as the NHS, in a trade deal, May left the door open to the possibility but affirmed that “as a Government... we're committed to an NHS that is free at the point of use."
The prime minister made the comments as she arrived in the United States Thursday ahead of a leaders summit in Washington to meet President Trump. “We're at the start of the process of talking about a trade deal. We're both very clear that we want a trade deal."
The possibility of greater U.S. corporate involvement in the NHS, which is a universal scheme that is 100 percent free for all citizens and has high levels of support among the population, is likely to spark strong opposition in the country.
In anticipation of a potential backlash, a spokesperson for the prime minister stressed Thursday that the “NHS will never be part of a trade deal and will always remain free at the point of delivery,” according to The Independent newspaper.
Ahead of her visit during a parliamentary session Wednesday, Labour leader and decades-long socialist Jeremy Corbyn urged May to rule out any trade deal with Trump that would give U.S. corporations access to the NHS.
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But in comments that look to appease the new U.S. president, May said she was looking forward to meeting Trump and expressed support for the U.S. president's "reform agenda" in regards to making NATO and the U.N. "more relevant and purposeful than they are today."
She did, however, "condemn the use of torture," comments that follow Trump saying the practice "absolutely works" in his first TV interview as president.
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