During the coronavirus crisis, the public has been encouraged to pay tribute not only to the doctors, nurses and social care workers working on the frontline, but also to the idea and the institution of the National Health Service itself. 

The status of the NHS in politics is not a unique side-effect of the current pandemic but a regular feature in politics. The NHS has become a resilient populist cause – for those on the left and the right, with allegations about funding, historical decisions and conspiracy.

This makes having a grown-up conversation about the case for reform near impossible.  

But is NHS populism good for those working in the NHS, let alone the patients? And is it sustainable for the government to demand uncritical adulation towards NHS staff, when countless others in the private sector face a very uncertain future? 

Media Manager Emily Carver is joined by Andy Mayer, the IEA's Chief Operating Officer to discuss.