This is the latest leaflet from the Socialist Party fighting hospital parking charges:

As Government plans to bring back Hospital Parking Charges for NHS staff:

STOP the ‘Going to Work Tax’ on NHS workers!

The “Going to Work Tax” on NHS workers is a disgrace.

Socialist Party and other NHS campaigners vow to redouble our efforts to oppose Hospital parking charges.

“We’ll be stepping up our campaign to stop the government re-imposing a ‘going to work’ tax on our NHS workers” said former Socialist Party councillor Dave Nellist.

The Government recently announced that measures to stop NHS workers having to pay to park at work will be ended.

“Socialists have been campaigning against Hospital Parking charges for years, but we’re sure that most people in our city will be outraged at the Government backtracking on this.

Our workers were ‘heroes’ for a few months now they face a bill of hundreds of pounds a year, being charged to turn up to work to be those heroes.

People should not be being charged to go to work and nor should people be charged for being ill and having to attend hospital and certainly not to boost the profits of a private company.

It’s reasonable for hospitals to cover costs of providing parking, but this is a private company, not the NHS, that is making millions of pounds profits every year from hospital parking charges. And those profits are soaring, from £2m a year at the start to nearly £7m last year.

We see this profit extraction from our NHS happening more and more as more NHS services are being handed out to private companies.

We welcome the Early Day Motion put by local MP Zarah Sultana, calling for free parking for staff –though we’d have liked it to be signed by a lot more than just 24 Labour MP’s.”

We need public support more than ever to pressure this shameless government and the private companies behind them. We’ll be out even more collecting signatures but maybe you could help get a petition sheet circulated. If so, message Dave via 07530 429441.