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Welsh Affairs

There is a contradiction in the hon. Gentleman's comment. First, he implies that we do not need the NHS, and perhaps that is a more prescient observation of the Conservative party's true feelings towards the NHS than anything else that has been said. Secondly, and to answer his point directly, there was rudimentary provision for the general public before 1945, but the whole point of the NHS was that people who could not afford health care died sooner. Indeed, as a direct result of the NHS, life expectancy has measurably improved in this country.