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Pro-NHS rapper puts a spell on Andrew Lansley
Rap knocking Tory health secretary as ‘grey-haired manky codger’ goes viral
It’s not every day the public service unions find a champion in hip hop. But a rap deriding health secretary Andrew Lansley and his proposals to "reform" the NHS has captured the nation's imagination. When the political history books come to be written, it might even be shown to have played a part in the controversial bill’s downfall.
The 'Andrew Lansley rap', penned by MC NxtGen, aka Sean Donnelly, has gone viral on YouTube, with over 220,000 hits in two weeks.
Unlike most hip hop numbers, there is no mention of bling, women and guns. And instead of being filmed in a nightclub, the accompanying video was shot in the playground of a school for disabled children in Leicester.
The rap opens with the lyric: "So the budget of the PCTs, he wants to hand to the GP's, Oh please. Dumb geeks are gonna buy from any willing provider, get care from private companies."
The song’s hook features random members of the public chanting the word "tosser", while Lansley is described variously as a "grey haired manky codger" and having a "face [that] looks like a shrivelled up ball sack".
Speaking to the Observer, 22-year-old Donnelly explained how the health workers’ union Unison became involved. His girlfriend, an occupational therapist, took the rap to Unison, of which she is a member, to see if they would support it. They "really liked it and got me a place to film it. I don't think it cost much because Tom the video guy doesn't charge much."
While Lansley is presumably not thrilled to have been bitch-slapped by a rapper, as some commentators have put it, the health secretary did comment: "I'm impressed that he's managed to get lyrics about GP commissioning into a rap".
Meanwhile, as the Mole reports today, David Cameron is planning to take over personal charge of the bill which has, in the words of the rapper, "been slagged by patient organisations, charities and unions, nursing and medical institutions". And bookies are offering short odds on Lansley being out of the Cabinet come the autumn. ·
