THE PROBLEMS OF NATIONAL HEALTH SERVICE AND THEIR ROLE IN TODAY’S POLITICAL AGENDA IN THE UNITED KINGDOM

The article focuses on the National Health Service and its role in British social and political life. The author highlights the symbolic meaning of NHS for several generations of UK citizens and political leaders, which determines its primacy for all political parties. The article looks at the impact of current NHS crisis on the voters’ attitudes to the governing Conservative party and the Government measures aimed at tackling the crisis. The major parties’ statements in the run-up to future General Elections are analyzed. The author notes that the population’s special attitude to the National Health Service across the UK makes the parties cautious and deters them from ambitious statements, so they restrict themselves to specific promises on a narrow scope of issues.