I missed Prime Minister’s Questions yesterday but it seems from what I read and hear that Ed Miliband got the better of David Cameron. I hope so because these exchanges matter, and even if the actual audience who watch the whole thing live is relatively small, the impact is large. It ‘gets out there’.
There is no doubt that the government’s vulnerability on the planned NHS reforms is growing. The combination of a lack of a mandate, the Lib Dems as a party now formally opposed, Number 10’s seeming lack of awareness of the scale of change planned by Andrew Lansley (aka David Cameron leaving himself an escape route) and the scale of opposition within the NHS itself, and not just from what Cameron dismisses as ‘the trade union’ of the BMA – these are combining to form a very potent backdrop to what could become a very potent issue for the next election.
It is a tribute to Labour’s good record on health that it figured low on people’s concerns at the last election. Something tells me it could be back at or close to the top of the charts next time.
So I hope Ed keeps coming back to it, and keeps drawing out that petulant, no attention to detail side in the Prime Minister.
I was also glad to see Alan Milburn debunking the Cameron line that these reforms are somehow a natural extension of our health reforms. They aren’t.
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Everyone opposed to these disastrous plans should sign the 38 degrees ‘Save the NHS’ campaign – http://www.38degrees.org.uk/page/s/Protect_our_NHS_Petition#petition
Will any journalist/editor who reads this please check which firm is going to pocket £millions, if not £billions, from the university loan fiasco which will also become a major issue in the next election? It would be interesting to know if the company was a contributor to the Tory party funds leading up to the last election?
Hearing Uni minister, David Willetts, on BBC Breakfast this morning- it seems study loans are going to be treated like mortgages with students paying back DOUBLE the amount of the loan over a possible life time period. Plus he hedged on the question about early pay-back and revealed they are not ruling out early penalty fees, as with a mortgage, if you use your extra earning power because you went to uni to pay back what you borrowed.
The Tories have plundered what is the UK’s Jewel in the Crown in terms of education – our fantastic University system, once respected globally. It will become the playground once again of the super-rich, forming an elitist Brideshead Revisited-Bullingdon Club, favoured by those now in power of course.
How many kids from poorer, or for that fact many middleclass backgrounds, have the confidence to take on £30,000 of student loan + the further £30,000 p.a it will take in living costs – knowing that £60,000 will grow to £120,000? As one viewer pointed out on BBC Breakfast the difference between predicted incomes post univeristy compared to those who opt not to go, once the cost of the loan is removed, will make it hardly worthwhile.
And this is all coming into play in September so will impact the unemployment figures even further as swathes of youngsters go on the dole while looking for decreasing numbers of jobs rather than face a wall of long-term debt. The impact on those taking on such large loans is also going to devastate any future economy in terms of house-buying and general personal expenditure. This is a rip off on a grand scale and some company is about to become very wealthy on the back of it…Can we find out who that is?????
Doubt BMA will be impressed, not least at being ‘dismissed’ ( as that is what it was) as a ‘ trade union’! Will they live to regret their leadership’s clearly preferred tactic of ‘ keeping their place at the table’ I wonder?
I hope that Ed Miliband will stand up and read John Healey’s speech on the NHS in full. Show Cameron up for cherry picking words ! Think he missed his chance though at last PMQs and Cameron keeps getting away with this disception.
David Miliband recently said that the left is losing elections around western Europe. And the answer is to become like the right on immigration, tax and spend and the reduced role of the state.
But the tide is now turning because of falling living standards everywhere. Labour should not ape failed neoliberalism brand, but build a progressive winning coalition around a programme to reverse falling incomes.
Jonathan Portes, director of NIESR, stated that there is a good case for delaying planned fiscal consolidation.
George Osborne´s claims that Britain was “on the verge of bankruptcy” are totally wrong. But they have hit consumer confidence.
On April 1 there will be 15 tax rises and benefit cuts. About 330,000 public sector employees will lose their jobs. 680,000 people in local authority housing will lose some housing benefits. 750,000 earners will start paying the higher 40% rate of tax.
For Labour, new times need new approaches, not old dogmas.
Will the cuts or NHS be the big question of the next election?
What we know is that the party that has the answer to that big question will win the election. My guess is that the government will be unpolular then because of the cuts and disruptive changes to schools and NHS.
And the Tory-led government will by then own the economic situation. There will also be a moral question over the cuts.
Being simply against cuts and “reforms” is not enough for Labour. Labour must at some stage offer its own alternative.
Support for the cuts has dipped below 50%. 55% of Britons think the Tory-led government is not handling the economy well.
Poll tax finished Mrs Thatcher. March 26 is an opportunity to unite against the unnecessary cuts.
The poorest 10% of Britain´s households pay proportionately more tax than the richest 10%.
Labour must go back to Labour values.
David Owen has said that the NHS is poised to be destroyed. Mr Owen has also pointed Ed Miliband towards the social market model of the SDP. Markets exist for social purposes – and capitalism can only thrive when well-regulated.
Labour must defend the public good against the anarchy of the government.
“…..anarchy of the government.”
You are full of political rhetoric. Your list of “facts per Olli” is incoherent, and now you come out with this nonsense. Perhaps it lost something in the translation.
I throught at the time of the last election that the massive successes in health and education could have had a higher profile. Both areas where Labour could have said ‘Look, this is what we have done, and we’ve done it really well.’ We all know that the Tories would make cuts in both these areas and I think it was a missed opportunity. There is growing public unrest about this and I think we’re due for a classic Cameron u-turn (how many have we had so far – polcy on the hoof?)
On the BMA website their first benefit claim is:-
“As an independent trade union, the BMA is the voice for doctors and medical students in the UK.” Comprendez?
New Labour was so deferential to them that the BMA negotiators were even surprised at the giveaway which was the GP’s new contract. The BMA represents the worst of closed shops and the NHS reforms now under way will never appeal to the Luddites involved in the BMA. Witness the BBC progs where Jerry Robinson looked art Rotherham General Hospital.
On a further note – there would be an interesting case if English students fought this through the courts, especially in the Court of Human Rights as of course Scottish and Welsh students will not be facing the same loan hikes.
@Richard,
Olli’s piece makes perfect sense. You just happen to disagree with it. I think Olli’s views are particularly interesting because he doesn’t have any tribal allegiance to Labour or Tory. He’s looking at our political system from the outside, without any preconceptions. This makes him much more clear sighted about British politics, and his opinion is well worth fair consideration.
That phrase ‘anarchy of the government’ sounds oxymoronic – however, the incoherent policies of this government are anarchic. No wonder they have to keep doing u-turns.
As for criticising Olli’s use of English – well, online generally, there’s plenty of native English speakers whose command of written English is much worse than Olli’s. For some reason, they tend to be Tory supporters. I could suggest that might be because Tories tend to be a bit thick, but that would be unkind.
Labour desperately needs a ‘big hitter’ as shadow health secretary and, whatever his merits, John Healey is certainly not that. I despair at his lack of passion and incisiveness in interviews. And whilst Cameron is constantly selectively quoting one of his speeches, it was political naivete to have ever spoken words that could so easily be used against him.
For me, the most telling moment of PMQs was the reaction to Ed Milliband’s humorous comeback on Cameron’s use of pre-scripted answers. The Govt benches were laughing heartily, including Ken Clark, George Osborne and William Hague. The only two on the front bench who seemed not to see the funny side were Nick Clegg and Cameron himself – they both looked pained.
This was very noticeable and should leave the Lib-Dems in no doubts that this relationship has developed into something personal and is certainly not a marriage of convenience. Equally, I can’t imagine Cameron being happy with the reaction from his Tory colleagues.
Looking at Cameron and Clegg’s faces at PMQs, it seems to me that they may not fully appreciate the scope of changes outlined in their bill; as AC says, the PM does not do detail.
Lansley is irritable and contemptuous of anyone who questions his policy but is happy to repeat the deception that patients will have more choice and somehow that makes things better. Patients can only choose from providers selected by a very small number of GPs involved in commissioning, or more likely, by private sector managers paid by GPs (out of NHS funds) to do this work.
What does this patient choice mean anyway? I recently had an MRI scan conducted by a private hospital at a cost of £880. The hospital technician was polite, he sent the report promptly and on the face of it the job was well done. My NHS consultant (who also works for this private hospital) wanted the scans reviewed by the NHS radiology department. as he felt they were more experienced and therefore best placed to interpret the results. Sure enough, issues were found which the private sector radiologists had missed. How can patients make an informed choice, when the issues involved are so complex?
Consumer choice is fine if you want to buy chocolate biscuits or change the colour of your hair. A wrong choice in health provider could affect your life. I want these choices to be made by the experts, those on the inside who really understand the pitfalls and I want them to be motivated only by what is best for me, the patient. The amount of profit to be made should never figure in the equation.
When competition law is applied to the process, lawyers will no doubt make a killing and private sector health providers will get their hands on much of the health care budget, but the impact on quality and continuity of care for all patients in an area will not be a factor. I wonder how many of the companies involved in commissioning and private sector provision will have contributed to Tory party funds? How much of the £80 billion to be spent by GP consortia will now be lost to private profit?
The NHS is not broken. Public satisfaction is at an all time high and waiting times have never been shorter. The government does not have any coherent argument for meddling with this most precious public service. As always the reason is ideology. Tories object on principle to public spending, but where it is unavoidable they believe the money should find its way into private pockets.
Fours years is a long time to wait for any redress, by which time there will be nothing left.
I have made the NHS my personal focus for campaigning – one can only fight fires on so many fronts. What appalls me straight off is knowing that the government is paving the way for its bill by inducements to GPs to go along with the changes – the same group of people Cameron was slagging off yesterday (I wonder if he knew they were listening? He never seems to know who might be).
I think those who want to battle against the Lansley bill are not necessarily going to get much immediate help from the Labour Party. All Labour ever seem to send me are emails about process — nothing to get one’s teeth into. Yes, I suppose I should go to their meetings and grind through an agenda, but why don’t they make me an offer I can’t refuse? Pressure groups are going to be more important than any political party in trying to hold on to our rights.
AC is right that Cameron is a kind of Macavity – he doesn’t want to take responsibility for anything. He’s also right that, in the main, Labour made such improvements to the health service that a lot of people were stupid enough to vote Lib Dem thinking that they had this essential service for life. I remember saying to a Lib Dem I encountered before the election that I considered Nick Clegg to be vacuous and untrustworthy. I’ve not seen anything to suggest I was nothing other than 100% right.
It’s a sad fact, however, that privatisation of the NHS began under New Labour. We might have thought that a bit of privatisation round the edges, in a benign political climate, was nothing to worry about. Well, I’m afraid that was wrong.
It’s like an old hit record, isn’t it, in when each time it is re-released, it always gets to number one.
Funny though that every time, it coincides with a Tory(LibDem!) government, isn’t it?
I’m becoming concerned by a casual acceptance – even among Labour voters – that New Labour was somehow about exactly what Cameron is doing now.
A few PFI hospitals and foundation schools do not a coalition make and I’m becoming concerned that Labour need to spend nearly as much energy debunking the New Labour myth as they do the economic austerity myth.
If Ed can metaphorically turn his back on Iraq, then perhaps he needs to symbolically turn his back on something that New Labour got wrong? Oppose something that was originally New Labour that the coalition is now distorting?
If we support too much of Cameron’s plan, we’re in danger of assuring the public that they really are “all the same”
Cameron’s vision is nothing like New Labour’s and I’ll take on that rather unpopular opinion with anyone.