The Green Party say they will seek to buy out PFI contracts within the NHS to safeguard the health service for Lichfield and Burntwood residents.
Instead of government funding projects, a consortium of private corporations provides the finance – they then rent the buildings back to taxpayers for 30 to 35 years.
The public purse is liable for £300billion or more over the next 30 years for 719 projects, according to Lichfield parliamentary candidate Robert Pass.
PFI was the brainchild of the Conservative Party in the 1990s and has been used to build new roads, schools and hospitals.
But use of such contracts expanded rapidly under Labour during their 13 years in power from 1997 until 2010.
Now the Greens want all public services to be funded through taxation, and are demanding an end private sector involvement in health care.
Mr Pass said: “The Green Party believes in a publically funded and publically operated NHS. There is no place for the private sector and market forces within our NHS.
“It was the Labour Party who set into motion what we believe is this creeping privatisation of NHS services.
“PFI contracts, which were introduced under Labour were used so we could borrow on the balance sheet to fund new roads, hospitals and schools.
“Taxpayers will end up paying £300 billion over the next 30 years because of PFI.”
The Greens also want to scrap the Health and Social Care act, which was introduced by the coalition government in 2012.
Mr Pass claims the act has led to NHS privatisation by stealth.
He said: “One in three of new NHS contracts go to private companies. If we’re not careful the NHS will soon become just a logo.”
The candidates standing in the Lichfield constituency in May are:
- Andy Bennetts – Class War
- Michael Fabricant – Conservatives
- Robert Pass – Green Party
- John Rackham – UKIP
- Paul Ray – Lib Dem
- Chris Worsey – Labour
