CAMPAIGNERS have launched a petition calling on Labour to commit to making the NHS a “fully funded public service” ahead of the party’s annual conference next month.

The petition, issued by campaign group We Own It today, highlights that it was Labour which created the NHS in 1948, to be free at the point of use for everyone.

Four out of five of the British public believe the NHS should be in public ownership, polling by the group found.

The NHS is also seen as the second-most important issue facing the country after the cost-of-living crisis, it said.

We Own It director Cat Hobbs said: “In 2010 the NHS was rated the most efficient and best-performing health service in the world.

“But creeping privatisation, cuts and sustained underfunding have brought it to its knees.

“The call from the public is too clear for Labour leader Keir Starmer to ignore — we want an NHS we can be proud of again.

“That means reinstating it as a fully public service.

“We are asking the opposition party to stand up for what the NHS was always intended to be.”

The petition comes just over a month ahead of the start of Labour’s annual conference on Sunday October 8.

Keep Our NHS Public co-chair Dr Tony Sullivan said: “Public opinion remains strongly behind the NHS and its staff.

“Keir Starmer and Labour must commit to a restoration of our NHS and its public-sector ethos, an end to outsourcing to private-sector companies, and to reinstating the NHS as a wholly publicly funded, provided and managed service. 

“If they do not, they will be contributing to its demise.”

Labour was approached for comment.