Unite is launching a protest campaign against Sir Stephen Bubb, chief executive of Acevo, for his part in what the union calls the “break-up and marketisation” of the NHS.
On Wednesday, Unite’s executive council voted unanimously in favour of a motion tabled by Unite’s community, youth worker and not-for-profit sector, which calls on the union to urge members of Acevo to leave the organisation in protest at Sir Stephen Bubb’s role in the NHS Future Forum.
Last year, Sir Stephen Bubb was appointed to the NHS Future Forum to assess choice and competition when the government’s controversial Health and Social Care Bill was going through Parliament.
Sir Stephen was appointed following mounting criticism of the Bill to take part in a “listening exercise” which would review the proposed reforms.
Unite’s motion claims that he used his role in the Future Forum to ensure that the interests of private healthcare companies were served in carrying through the Health and Social Care Act.
Kingsley Abrams, a member of Unite's executive council, told civilsociety.co.uk that it would be contacting members of Acevo to inform them of Bubb's role in supporting the Act's privatisation of the NHS.
The motion incorrectly claims that Sir Stephen has been rewarded with a LibDem peerage for his actions.
Commenting on the motion, Ralph Michell, director of policy at Acevo, said: “It is hard to take this motion too seriously when it is based on an April fool's joke about Stephen’s ennoblement.
"We don’t want to privatise the NHS, and there is, in fact, no such person as Lib Dem peer Lord Bubb of Charlbury. We are, as always, happy to discuss the issues with trade unions, given the important role they have to play.”
