British politicians from both sides of the House of Commons have united in a display of solidarity to rebut Donald Trump’s claims on the NHS and the recent protests on Sunday – stating “thousands of people are marching in the UK because their system is broke and not working.”

I believe the assumption that the protestors are protesting because the service is completely broken is inflammatory and unhelpful at the least.

Both Jeremy Corbyn and Jeremy Hunt, as well as Theresa May, expressed their disagreement with the statement. PM Theresa May said that she is “proud of free health service” while Jeremy Corbyn tweeted: “Wrong. People were marching because we love our NHS and hate what the Tories are doing to it.”

The protests come following a shortfall in financial injections into the NHS. Health economists have suggested that the NHS will need four billion pounds for the next two years, however in the Conservatives’ autumn budget it was stated that only £2.8billion would be going towards the NHS.

However, the NHS does remain the best service in the world for healthcare following research by the World Health Organisation, OECD and researchers from the Commonwealth Fund.

More and more it seems Twitter is becoming the site for political discourse and international affairs between politicians, which is concerning and unhealthy – especially between Britain and the US, who have had typically strong relations in the past.

I find myself concerned that this is the future for politics and a direction that will be hard to veer from in the coming years.

Social media can be a great tool in the world of politics; however, regardless of allegiance it is undeniable that international political discussions do not belong here – nor do the tweets of arguably the most powerful and influential politician in the world.

By Oliver Streather-Paul