Nigel Lawson said the NHS was the closest we had to a religion. What’s needed today is someone willing to declare that this church has become corrupt, self-protective, and hostile to its own founding purpose. In the latest demonstration of its chronic failure, the NHS has all but certainly missed a range of targets, from A&E performance to elective waiting times.

The NHS England constitution aims for 92 per cent of patients to receive their non-urgent hospital care within 18 weeks. In January last year, the actual figure was 59 per cent. Starmer has repeatedly said that the NHS is a top priority. ‘We will fight for the NHS,’ he proclaimed. ‘We will fix the NHS.’ This year the figure is 62 per cent. A&E waits remain dreadful, ambulance delays dire. Streeting, the best of Labour’s front bench, has poured in effort and money. The number of patients waiting has fallen only slightly, from 6.3 million people to 6.1 million, and the NHS has missed his own modest targets. And all for an extra £26 billion of investment.

Many of us think the modern state is not great at running very much. I share that position and work as a physician for the NHS. But those of us suspicious of socialised institutions must admit two facts. The first is that all of us believe parts of human society are best organised centrally. Even Milton Friedman included the........

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