Independent Community & Health Concern

Background

In 1997, Worcestershire health authority announced reforms to help reduce its multi-million pound budget deficit. This included downgrading Kidderminster Hospital to a minor injuries unit, which led to opposition from local campaign group, Independent Kidderminster Hospital and Health Concern, which had raised a 100,000 signature petition, led a protest march and lobbied the Prime Minister. The plans went ahead in September 2000, leading to the closure of the Accident and Emergency (A&E) department, alongside other in-patient services.

In early 1999, the group claimed to have 100,000 supporters and contested seats on Wyre Forest District Council in protest against the attempts to downgrade the hospital. The following year, Health Concern formed the largest council bloc with 19 councillors.

Richard Taylor

By March 2001, Health Concern had announced that their leader, Richard Taylor, a retired consultant who worked at the hospital for 23 years, would be standing in the Wyre Forest constituency at the 2001 general election. The area's incumbent Labour MP, David Lock, who had previously accused the Health Concern of scaremongering, said the election was "not going to be a referendum on Kidderminster hospital". Taylor won the seat with more than 28,000 votes at a surprise landslide victory, although he benefited from a decision by the Liberal Democrats not to put up a candidate of their own. He was the only person not from a major party elected as an MP from an English constituency in the 2001 Parliament.

Taylor was re-elected as member for Wyre Forest in the 2005 election, albeit with a considerably reduced majority. The party lost the seat in the 2010 election to the Conservative candidate, Mark Garnier, by a margin of 2,643 votes; the Liberal Democrats did field a candidate in 2010 having not done so in 2001 and 2005, which may have contributed to Taylor's defeat. Taylor was awarded an MBE in the Queen's Birthday Honours List in 2014, for services to Worcestershire, particularly Kidderminster Hospital.

Taylor went on to co-found the National Health Action Party, which encouraged doctors and other medical professionals to stand for parliament. He continued to serve as the President of Health Concern, which he stood for again in Wyre Forest at the 2015 general election, placing fourth.

Local government

Before the 2004 local elections Health Concern held 16 seats on Wyre Forest District Council, making it the largest party, but in those elections it lost half of these seats to the Conservative Party. By 2008, the party held 19 seats on the district council. In the 2000s, the party had councillors on Worcester City Council and Redditch Borough Council, and also held the Cleobury Mortimer ward on Shropshire Council for eight years.

Dissolution and legacy

In May 2022, Taylor announced that Independent Health Concern, which had eight councillors on Wyre Forest District Council, would withdraw from standing candidates in future elections, to "unify the independent vote". The party was statutorily de-registered by the Electoral Commission the following year.

Six former representatives stood in the 2023 Wyre Forest District Council election, of which two were elected, Peter Young and Nicola Martin.

Parliamentary elections

Health Concern's candidate Richard Taylor stood for the fourth time in Wyre Forest at the 2015 general election.

Local elections

The party was fielded candidates at every election in Wyre Forest between 1999 and 2019.

The party held one seat in Shropshire between 2009 and 2017.