ON FRIDAY August 22 I joined the People’s March for the NHS for the 17-mile Harrogate to Leeds leg. The march is following in the historic footsteps of the original 1936 Jarrow Crusade to Westminster, this time to draw attention to the threats posed by privatisation to our precious National Health Service.
It left Jarrow on Sunday 16 August and will go through 23 towns and cities, covering 300 miles before arriving in London on Saturday 6 September.
Sixteen stalwart individuals from all walks of life, including the former Chief Medical Officer for Hull, will do the full distance. Many, like a postman I met, will be walking on their day off and for some (such as a GP practice manager called Jill) it will be the first time they have taken part in such a public demonstration of solidarity and support for something they feel passionately about.
The response we had along the way on Friday was fantastic, with scores of people joining the march for as far as they could manage and passing vehicles sounding their horns. We all want to save our NHS for future generations, whatever our political views may be.
Let’s hope the Government will listen.
Ginnie Shaw, Derwent Mews, Osbaldwick, York.
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