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JOHN LISTER Socialist Alliance Prospective Parliamentary Candidate for Oxford East. (www.oxfordsocialists.org.uk) Press Release:/Photo Opportunity Embargo: Not for use before 00.01 Tuesday May 8: Fears of clash as bankers lobby NHS for speedy deal THE NORMALLY quiet streets of Oxford could resemble the scenes in central London on May Day, as local socialists and campaigners vow to confront a rumoured pro-capitalist backlash. Bankers, developers and service providers eager to get their hands on the lucrative Private Finance Initiative scheme to move Oxford’s Radcliffe Infirmary to a new complex in Headington have called a protest lobby to complain about the prolonged delays in signing the deal. Documents leaked to Oxford Socialist Alliance reveal plans by the underground "Capitalist Resurgence Action Platform" (CRAP) to mobilise a high-profile picket outside the Radcliffe Infirmary on Tuesday morning. It appears that this organisation represents an extremist wing of employers and business chiefs known to be ready to take violent action whenever they feel profitability may be called into question. The business chiefs will carry placards demanding that Treasury Secretary Andrew Smith, Oxford East MP, intervenes to speed up the signing of the £70-£100m PFI hospital deal. Their protest seems to have been timed to cause Labour – which strongly supports PFI and has already given the go-ahead to NHS schemes worth a massive £7 billion – maximum embarrassment in the run-up to the general election. Slogans to be used by the demonstrators reportedly include: "PFI now! Profits before Patients"; "We need a cash injection"; "Your NHS should be our business"; "We are banking on the NHS"; "Come on Andrew, give us the money!"; "What about the bankers?"; and "Private medicine for a slimmer NHS". A counter-demonstration has now been called for Tuesday by the Socialist Alliance, starting at 8.30am outside the main entrance of the Radcliffe Infirmary, Woodstock Road. Alliance PPC John Lister said: "It almost defies belief that these hard-line profiteers would try to take the streets of Oxford and peddle their extremist line. They won’t be happy until every NHS hospital is owned and run for profit by the private sector. "Of course we have no idea how many supporters they can turn out: there has been no sign up to now of any popular support for the Private Finance Initiative. Most people can see it is rotten value for money, and that it will leave the NHS deep in debt for 30 years, with rental and capital charges of £4.5 billion a year by 2007. "We are determined they won’t get away with it. The Socialist Alliance will confront these capitalists. We are opposed to any use of PFI. New hospitals should be publicly funded by the Treasury: Andrew Smith should help us get CRAP out of this City." CONTACT DETAILS: John Lister 07774-264112 (mob) 020 8960 6466 (office) |