Compulsory private medical insurance would be a “hard sell”, according to political strategist Alastair Campbell.
Auto enrolment for pensions was first introduced in the Pensions Act 2008 by the then Labour government.
Campbell was a leading strategist in various roles for the party in opposition and government from 1994 to 2003, but had left by the time auto enrolment was enacted.
However, when asked about the prospect of the UK moving to a compulsory system for private healthcare, Campbell (pictured), who served in the early years of Blair’s Labour government, said he would not underestimate how politically difficult that would be for good reasons as well.
Speaking at the launch of Bupa’s Wellbeing Index, Campbell said: “There’s something about our National Health Service that people think is fundamental to Britishness.”
“It’s not a red line. It’s a blurred line to an extent,” he added.
“Compulsory private medical insurance would be very, very difficult, but I think both in Australia and in the United Kingdom, that would be quite tricky.”