A couple of concerns re Labour. 🤷‍♀️

It's instructive to, to see how few countries do ban it, tho its discussed of course.

That was very helpful, Casdon. Thank you.

Primrose53

Starmer is voting against ban on first cousin marriages. These marriages often result in terribly handicapped babies who cost the taxpayer millions over their lifetimes in special care, support workers, special schools, special equipment at home, transport, medication, operations etc.

These cousins are mainly from the Pakistani community and should be stopped from marrying in my opinion.

I remember in the 70s and 80s my friend was a teacher in special schools in the Midlands and there was a massive surge in the number of severely handicapped Asian kids as more of them came to this country.

I think it is wicked to knowingly create kids like this and Starmer should vote for the ban and put an end to it.

Probably because he’s aware that such a ban would have little effect.
theconversation.com/banning-first-cousin-marriage-would-be-eugenic-and-ineffective-expert-view-251187

Starmer is voting against ban on first cousin marriages. These marriages often result in terribly handicapped babies who cost the taxpayer millions over their lifetimes in special care, support workers, special schools, special equipment at home, transport, medication, operations etc.

These cousins are mainly from the Pakistani community and should be stopped from marrying in my opinion.

I remember in the 70s and 80s my friend was a teacher in special schools in the Midlands and there was a massive surge in the number of severely handicapped Asian kids as more of them came to this country.

I think it is wicked to knowingly create kids like this and Starmer should vote for the ban and put an end to it.

Wes Streeting is doing better than I thought he would. I am on an NHS waiting list which has reduced by several weeks since Labour came to power.
I still couldn't vote for a party that wants to retain the two child benefit cap though.

Labour have "burst onto the scene raring to go with Good Ideas".

eastangliabylines.co.uk/politics/the-first-6-months-what-has-labour-actually-done/

I think its fair enough, when faced with the huge complexities of problems the NHS faces (and have been aired in GN in so many ways) that it starts with a full review, enquiry and suggestions.

You need experts taking part from outside the L Party and a great deal of consideration. No way could Labour "burst on the scene" with a fix it all NHS solution for the election, including how short the time scale was between calling the election and it taking place.

Before the election up and down the country like in my Labour Party we were involved in consultation groups about various aspects of the NHS with patients and professionals in zoom meetings, the time scale was interrupted by the election itself.

But Galaxy has a point. Within any established party there are different points of view, and in government there are likely to be points one agrees or disagrees with. There are no magical solutions where a party will bring in an ideal leader all can get behind on every policy.

I think we've been affected (well I'd say "afflicted" but then I would) by the way politics are operating in the US.

Trump did promise, "god like" he would make America Great, be the Great Peacemaker, be a mythical I will make it alright maker of promises, and we now find he has feet of clay and indeed possibly dangerous, peace-wise. There are no gods in politics, mere mortals instead.

True Galaxy.
Labour are my hope now for the future.
The Tories blew it and I’d never trust them again after I lent Boris my vote.
And Reform UK have not just peaked (as I said a fortnight ago) but imploded.

Especially with their huge majority kitty and 14 years in opposition. I thought they’d burst onto the scene raring to go with Good Ideas if not Solutions.

And I know it’s a hot and contentious subject but Cooper’s ‘Smash the Gangs’ approach leaves much to be desired. There is no deterrent (well, not enough to put the rubber boat migrants off) and this week alone has seen the highest number of crossings according to Border Force officials.

Come on Cooper. Sort something (anything) out as a deterrent. We can’t afford to keep housing, feeding, NHS-treating anyone who just fancies coming over. Immigration doesn’t (or shouldn’t) work like that.

FGT, I think it very unlikely you are going to agree with every policy a political party puts forward, you will I suppose have to decide your line in the sand.

They are used in a different way for that cohort of children, but as far as I am aware certainly the side effects of for example Lupron can be very serious. It is also to do with the fact that the treatment of children with gender dysphoria doesnt seem to have been based on evidence, limited follow up, etc.

FGT, I hoped against Hooe that Wes would be as good as he was in opposition. I am sorely disappointed.

I am also disappointed in the short term ism of the labour party now it is power.

Frankly I don’t think this is what a cash-strapped NHS should be doing, and Streeting should be saying so.

As regards the effects of this reset (how I hate this latest buzzword) with Europe, animal welfare standards, much higher here than in the EU, will be watered down.

explicitly recommended a clinical trial to assess the effectiveness and safety of puberty blockers in treating gender dysphoria, as there is currently insufficient evidence regarding their long-term impacts on this population

So is the issue with puberty blockers just in relation to gender dysphoria? I believe that have been used for a long time for children with precocious puberty.

I am beyond grateful to Hilary Cass for her work and bravery, I disagree with her on the issue of trials.

Surely the point is that the Cass report itself recommended the trials and it will definitely, given the general tone of the Cass report, be very critical as to safety in every sense. It could well back up a ban in the end until a certain age.

What we then do with the results is indeed still contentious and will take a lot of discussion and decision making within and without the medical profession.

I think Wes Streeting has been much braver on the gender issues than Starmer, I have a fair bit of time for him. I think the trial is a terrible idea and we will look back on medical intervention on this issue with shame. The idea that we should trust the NHS on this issue after the mistakes that have been made is not something I subscribe to. And as for the telegraph they have been light years ahead of the Guardian for example on this. I thank God they were around, similar for the spectator and the others who did some real journalism on this issue.

nanna8

I’m wondering where all those Reform supporters will go now. There were reasons for their support, it wasn’t just a whim on the part of their supporters and I am certain they weren’t all right wing extremists, either, despite what Starmer would like people to believe.

Where has Starmer said that all Reform supporters were right wing extremists nanna ? I cant find a reference, look forward to one.

I'll leave it to you to look up details FGT but I guess you'll have to wait like the rest of us for:

"according to current information, a report on the NHS, led by Professor Lord Darzi, is expected to be published in spring 2025 as part of the government's 10-year plan for the NHS. This report, called an "Independent Investigation of the National Health Service in England," will provide an independent assessment of the NHS's performance and inform the government's future plans"

I’m wondering where all those Reform supporters will go now. There were reasons for their support, it wasn’t just a whim on the part of their supporters and I am certain they weren’t all right wing extremists, either, despite what Starmer would like people to believe.

Thank you Casdon and Wyllow.
I’m a willing pupil.

I’m hoping to be inspired by Labour. I’m lost to the Tories and now to Reform. My hopes lie with them now.

I fear Wes is out of his depth.
I envisioned braver decisions from him after he’d been impressed by the Australian health model there.
He’s just tinkering around the edges.
Now is the time to be bolder surely, with Labour’s huge majority?
I’m a bit disappointed.

Anyone else?

Bit of information on the Cass Report and the Trials after Googling Cass report:

correct information is the Cass Report sugeseted they were unsafe as things stood not totally banning them, and specifically recommended trials:

"Yes, the Cass Review, an independent review of gender identity services for children and young people in the UK,

explicitly recommended a clinical trial to assess the effectiveness and safety of puberty blockers in treating gender dysphoria, as there is currently insufficient evidence regarding their long-term impacts on this population

Key points about the Cass Review and puberty blockers:

Lack of evidence:
The review found that existing research on puberty blockers for gender dysphoria is of poor quality and does not provide a reliable basis for clinical decision-making.

Clinical trial recommendation:
To address this gap, the Cass Review strongly advocated for a well-designed clinical trial to investigate the efficacy and potential risks of puberty blockers in children experiencing gender incongruence.

Rationale for the trial:
The goal of the trial would be to gather robust data on the long-term effects of puberty blockers, allowing for more informed decisions about their use in clinical practice.

Streeting is therefore following Cass guidelines

- the Telegraph report "failing to intervene" is somewhat disingenuous" since the trial has as yet produced no results.

I'm not commenting on there use here, but saying the Cass report is in fact being followed, not ignored.

FriedGreenTomatoes2

When you find it, would you get back to me Casdonas I’d appreciate that.

It concerns me that Streeting is going against the highly recommended findings of the Cass report.

And I’m sorry that we might be binding ourselves ever tighter to EU rules when they stymie our Brexit won divergences in this ground breaking field.

Yes, of course. I don’t think it’s is any any way unreasonable for the health minister not to pre-empt the findings of a clinical trial though, whatever the subject, so I definitely think the views of Telegraph journalists has come into play in that report.
On the modified crops what I’d want to know is whether the savings and/or benefits outweigh the losses, which doesn’t seem to be clear.

I am not sure that gene edited crops should be grown at scale just yet. I would actually prefer them to be monitored for a couple of generations before being widely available. We just don't know yet if eating them in any quantity may have an effect on unborn children. Just like we didn't know about the effects of Thalidamide or nuclear testing. Gene editing could create more problems than it solves.