One of the things I have done in my life of which I am most proud was being elected as Chair of the Socialist Health Association (SHA) in 2016.
For those who are not aware of the SHA it is a campaigning membership organisation. The SHA promotes health and well-being and the eradication of inequalities through the application of socialist principles to society and government. The SHA believe that these objectives can best be achieved through collective rather than individual action.
The SHA stands for:
- Universal publicly provided healthcare meeting patients’ needs, free at the point of use, funded by taxation
- Democracy based on freedom of information, election not selection and local decision making
- Equality based on true equality of opportunity and progressive taxation.
I was also very proud that the SHA was a broad and inclusive organisation, accepting a wide range of views, and it had some tremendous people doing great work on range of issues. We were playing playing a vigorous, important and influential role within the Labour Movement.
I was replaced as Chair in 2017 in a democratic process, a result I accepted and walked away to give the new Chair a free run at taking their vision forward. When I see what has happened since then it has been very difficult to watch from afar.
Almost immediately the SHA was mired in conflict. The long serving Director was removed from post, and members reported an increasing intolerance of the range of views that had previously been the norm.
The SHA now has a good Chair in Brian Fisher, and there are still some brilliant people involved, but I am told that huge problems of bad behaviour remain. I feel very strongly that the SHA still has an important contribution to make, and I hope that people will rally around and restore the SHA to the influential and important role it once held.
Chris Bain 