A local doctor's view of Brexit - worse in the North east

9 Jul 2019
Cllr Dr Aidan King

I'm Aidan and I work as Junior Doctor in the northeast NHS. When I was asked to do this talk I approached my consultant and asked her opinion on Brexit as a preamble to getting her thoughts on the topics I should talk about. Dr Sarah Jordan said "well Aidan, it's not going to be good, and it's going to be even worse for our region, in fact I feel so strongly about it that I joined the Liberal Democrats and ran as a councillor". Wow, I said, so did I.


Why would 2 people who were not active in politics before this do this? Because we are concerned about what Brexit means for the future of our country.


I work with people from around the European Union to deliver healthcare. I have already lost too many of my old friends and colleges to Brexit our NHS cannot afford to lose any more.


In a future trade deal with America the US ambassador has said that the NHS would be on the menu, Donald Trump has confirmed this. At 16 I had my right hand reconstructed by the NHS after an accident. I know that without that I would not be standing in front of you as a Doctor. I have 2 young children born in the NHS. The future that I wish to build for them does not involve the reduced access to healthcare embodied by the US healthcare system.


When I have talked about Brexit with my European colleges I initially see fear in their eyes. When I tell them I will fight with others to stop Brexit they have tears in their eyes. When I look into my children's eyes the future I wish for them is an open, tolerant, welcoming unified and trusting. I do not see these values embodied in Brexit.

We have heard about the NHS needing to stock pile 6 weeks of medicines and equipment. Friends, this the stuff of earthquakes and tsunamis, natural disasters. The Brexit process now looks like a runaway train, driven forward by the thumping pistons of ego and false promises. What we need now is a dead man's switch, a peoples vote to prevent disaster.

- Councillor Dr Aidan King speaking in Sunderland at a rally for a People's Vote 7 Juy 2019

This website uses cookies

Like most websites, this site uses cookies. Some are required to make it work, while others are used for statistical or marketing purposes. If you choose not to allow cookies some features may not be available, such as content from other websites. Please read our Cookie Policy for more information.

Essential cookies enable basic functions and are necessary for the website to function properly.
Statistics cookies collect information anonymously. This information helps us to understand how our visitors use our website.
Marketing cookies are used by third parties or publishers to display personalized advertisements. They do this by tracking visitors across websites.