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The World Ahead | Britain in 2024

Britain’s NHS will continue to be a political hot potato in 2024

Perhaps hotter than usual

A paramedic enters an ambulance at a residential address.
Image: Panos

By Georgia Banjo

Few countries are as devoted to their health system as Britain. During the opening ceremony of the London Olympics in 2012, jiving nurses enthralled a stadium—and bemused a global television audience—proclaiming their pride in the National Health Service (nhs). In adverts broadcast during the covid-19 pandemic the British government urged the public to lock down not only to save lives but, in larger letters, to “protect the NHS”. The health service will play an even bigger role than usual in the general election expected in 2024.

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This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition of The World Ahead 2024 under the headline “Emergency room”

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