Greens pile pressure on NHS over use of tech giant… even though it has helped to speed up cancer diagnoses
Green Party activists, backed by leader Zack Polanski, are pressing NHS trusts and local councils to drop the US data firm Palantir, despite evidence that its software has helped cut waiting lists and speed up cancer diagnoses. The campaign has spread through councils where the Greens hold influence, often in coalition with Labour or the Liberal Democrats, putting pressure on NHS trusts ahead of a deadline for Prime Minister Andy Burnham to decide whether to trigger a break clause in Palantir's NHS contract by the end of the year.
Palantir, which has secured around £600 million in UK public-sector contracts including a £330 million seven-year NHS deal, has faced criticism from left-wing groups over its work with Donald Trump's immigration authorities and the Israeli military. Councils in Sheffield, Rotherham and East Hertfordshire have passed near-identical motions against the firm, while Coventry councillors targeted its social-work contract; Polanski has demanded Palantir "get the hell out of the NHS." The company disputes the criticism, saying its software has delivered 110,000 additional NHS operations, cut long-stay discharge delays by 15%, and improved performance against the 28-day cancer diagnosis standard by 6.8%.
- Greens pressure NHS councils to drop Palantir despite its healthcare benefits
- Motions passed in Sheffield, Rotherham, East Hertfordshire and Coventry
- Burnham must decide on NHS contract break clause by year's end
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Green Party councillors across England are campaigning to strip Palantir, a US data-analytics company, of NHS contracts. Palantir builds software that helps hospitals manage patient data, waiting lists and staff rotas, and NHS bosses say it has sped up cancer diagnoses and cut delays. The debate matters because a decision on whether to renew or end part of its NHS contract is due by the end of the year, meaning the row could have a direct effect on services patients rely on.
The row centres on Palantir's other business, not its NHS work. Critics point to the firm's contracts with US immigration enforcement under Donald Trump and with the Israeli military, arguing a company involved in those areas should not hold sensitive NHS data. Supporters, including some NHS managers, counter that its UK health software is a separate product that has measurably improved patient care.
The dispute has moved from national politics into local councils, several of which have passed motions opposing Palantir, often where Greens sit in coalition with Labour or the Liberal Democrats. It now lands on the desk of the government, which must decide whether to exercise a break clause in Palantir's NHS contract, making this both a political argument about a controversial company and a practical question about NHS technology and patient outcomes.