As someone hoping to be the next MP for the city, I get a lot of emails.

But in the last few weeks one subject has come up more than any other.

Hundreds of residents have now emailed me about the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership known as “TTIP”.

It sounds technical, but everyone should know about it, because it could decide the future of our NHS.

For those who don’t know, TTIP is a trade agreement between America and Europe that makes it easier to do business between the continents.

That’s a good thing, right? Yes, in principle it is. Particularly for a city like Southampton that’s made its way in the world through trading the three Cs – cars, containers and cruises.

More trade means more jobs and investment which should be encouraged.

But there are two serious problems with this trade agreement as it stands.

Firstly, it includes public services like the NHS. That means that American companies will find it easier to bid for healthcare contracts here in England.

Privatisation and foreign ownership hasn’t exactly worked with the railways, and I think it could really undermine our NHS too.

The second concern is called the Industrial State Dispute Resolution, known as ISDS (yes, there are a lot of acronyms!).

The worry is that this would allow private companies to sue our state if we made a decision that could damage their profits.

So for example if we gave an NHS contract to a private company and wanted it back, they could seek compensation from the taxpayer.

This is why Labour has spoken out at the EU against the dangerous parts of TTIP, and called for full and proper scrutiny both here and in Brussels.

Unfortunately, the Conservatives in this country have gone along with the European proposals as they stand, and they won’t make any changes to the deal.

Despite all of that, I remain hopeful, and that’s because of the public.

Like I said, I’ve been amazed at the number of letters and emails I’ve received about TTIP, and I have no doubt that it’s their hard work that has brought it to public attention.

With their continued work, I don’t think the Conservatives and the EU will be able to get away with this dodgy deal. Together we can beat this, and protect our NHS.

Rowenna Davis, Prospective Labour MP for Southampton Itchen.