AN estate agency-style boards campaign by Royal Wootton Bassett residents against the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) trade deal is being followed up with a petition being presented to MP James Gray's office.

The petition, which is being delivered tomorrow, urges North Wiltshire MP James Gray to support their call to get the NHS out of an EU trade deal which threatens irreversible privatisation of the health service.

Last week households across the constituency raised estate agency style ‘not for sale’ boards with the message to get the ‘NHS out of TTIP’.

Campaigners say the refusal by Conservatives to exempt the NHS from the American trade deal flies in the face of legal advice seen by health campaigners which confirms that there are clear dangers arising from TTIP that could impact on the health service.

They say TTIP could grant American multinationals, or any firm with American investors, the power to sue the Government if it ever attempted to take privatised health services back into public ownership.

Trevor Howells, local resident and spokesman, said: “Residents from Wootton Bassett are stepping up their campaign to urge their local MP must get to grips with the threat TTIP deal poses to the NHS. He needs to ask why legal advice is being withheld by the government about the NHS and TTIP.

“If James is serious about his concerns about the EU then he should be calling on David Cameron to act by carving the NHS out of the EU trade deal called TTIP. The Conservative government does not have a mandate to allow the sell-off of the NHS to become permanent.”