Nigel Lawson once wrote that the NHS was the closest thing the English had to a religion. But is our health service built on the right foundations? Nick Spencer investigates...
Having spent five years convincing voters that New Labour was economically prudent, it was for the purpose of funding the health service that Gordon Brown decided openly to raise taxes and risk his party's hard-earned reputation for frugality.
Similarly, 20 years ago, it was the health service at which Margaret Thatcher's all-conquering free market reforms were halted. The NHS does indeed appear to have a quasi-religious power.
