This article is more than 2 years old

This article is more than 2 years old

Three former Labour health secretaries have written to Jeremy Corbyn, warning that a hard Brexit could jeopardise the future of the NHS.

Frank Dobson, Alan Milburn and Alan Johnson are among the signatories to a letter, seen by the Guardian, urging the Labour leader not to neglect the NHS when thinking about the party’s Brexit stance.

“Labour is the party of the NHS. As we prepare to celebrate its 70th anniversary, it is vital that we are on the right side of the arguments about Brexit and its potential impact on the NHS. If not, future generations will not forgive us,” they say.

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The former health secretaries warn that any economic damage from Brexit would make it difficult to deliver the NHS funding boost Labour is committed to. They also highlight the importance of frictionless trade to ensure medicines can freely enter the country.

“We know from the government’s own impact studies that all of the Brexit options currently being discussed will be worse economically than the status quo. That means less money for public services, including health and social care, or a significant increase in taxation,” the letter says.

Both major parties are promising a significant injection of resources into the NHS, but have not yet made clear how it will be paid for.

The letter adds: “Millions of consignments of vital medicines and medical equipment move in and out of the UK every week. Any new customs checks or regulatory barriers for these time-critical movements could have very serious implications for care, as well as pushing up costs.”

It has also been signed by a string of Labour MPs and peers with a special interest in health policy, including all five Labour members of the health and social care select committee: Luciana Berger, Diana Johnson, Ben Bradshaw, Rosie Cooper and Paul Williams.

As well as NHS funding and medicine supplies, they highlight concerns that ending freedom of movement from the EU could deprive the NHS of essential staff and express fears that the need to strike new trade deals with non-EU partners could tempt the government to open up the health service to overseas firms.

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Corbyn and his shadow Brexit secretary Keir Starmer have said they would take Britain out of the EU single market, but would seek a deal that allows “full access” to the “internal market”, through “shared institutions”.

They are under pressure from some in the party to shift towards backing continued membership of the single market – or even a “people’s vote” on the final deal.

Challenged about the idea of a referendum on the final Brexit deal by Sky’s Sophie Ridge on Sunday, Corbyn said: “Look, we’ve not proposed it, we’ve not supported it and we’re not proposing it now.”

While public attention has focused on the split in Theresa May’s cabinet over Brexit, Labour is also deeply divided. In a recent Commons vote aimed at keeping open the option of remaining in the European Economic Area, MPs split three ways: Corbyn whipped MPs to abstain; but 75 rebelled to vote for the motion while another 15 voted against.

Some MPs in pro-leave constituencies, including Caroline Flint and Laura Smith, who resigned a frontbench post over the issue, have warned against any deal that could entail accepting freedom of movement.