2015 Election - antidotes?

" Did they vote for the Health and Social Care Act and privatisation?
Have they made money from private health connections?
Do they want NHS healthcare to be included in the EU-US trade deal? "

As usual you only see what you want to see.

I do not think any Labour MPs voted for the Health and Social Care Act, but doubtless you will disagree about that, too.

Labour did not privatise the NHS, and nobody on social investigations has said so. The NHS is in danger of being privatised unless we stop the coalition from doing it.
As you like social investigations blog, this is for you to read, Pogs.

socialinvestigations.blogspot.co.uk/2014/07/healthcare-uk-conduit-for-market-part_31.html

You will see that Labour wanted to allow companies from abroad to use NHS expertise, but all the money made from it was to go back into the NHS.

I can't believe someone has hope in "Wallace and Gromit" The trouble with "fire in the belly" politics is that they are spewed forth by really objectionable people. Can anyone really listen to Balls or Milliband et al? whatever their message is. I am sorry, but the smoothies will will.

may2015.com/ideas/memo-to-the-right-if-labour-is-as-rubbish-as-you-say-why-arent-the-tories-streets-ahead/

A very long article, but worth reading, for those who are interested.
Refutes what you say, jo.
Once again, someone just bothered about looks and soundbites, rather than policy, jo.
I like fire in the belly politics. How do you know I am really objectionable?

It appears that slinging insults at Labour and Green politicians is preferable to actually addressing the issues.

One of the reasons why Blair got in was the appalling neglect of the NHS, including its buildings and facilities, and of schools which were falling into serious disrepair. Unwisely, they eventually decided to set up private finance initiatives but the motivation behind it was to try and rectify, with as little delay as possible, the chaos in public health and education provision.

The Conservatives, on the other hand, have on many occasions stated their wish to shrink the state by contracting out public services to private companies.

The evidence is well documented. When out of office, three of the Conservative Shadow Cabinet – Michael Gove, Greg Clark and Jeremy Hunt – called for the health service to be dismantled. In a book called "Direct Democracy", co-authored with Conservative MEP Daniel Hannan, they claimed it was “no longer relevant”. Mr Hannan also went on US TV to describe the NHS as a “60year-old mistake”.

The Health & Social Care Bill enshrines Conservative ideology. It forces services to be put out to tender - a costly and complex process in which the NHS - with its limited resources - is no match for huge healthcare organisations which have vast amounts of money and expertise at their disposal.

David Owen, who can hardly be described as a "left winger" wrote in his pamphlet "Still Fatally Flawed":

"Earl Howe wrote to Peers on 22 December about the regulations “requiring commissioners to justify their decisions in terms of benefits to patients and value for taxpayers money. The Regulations would reflect the existing Principles and Rules for Competition and Cooperation in the NHS”. But in fairness to the last Labour Government competition was not for universal application. There was no insistence that any willing provider had the right to tender for virtually every health provision contract in England."

Well said, Eloethan.
Following on from my last post, after watching Question Time last night, I watched This Week. Andrew Neill actually asked Michael Portillo why, if Labour were doing so appallingly, the Tories were not ten points ahead.
Portillo could not answer.
The fact is that in the poll of polls, Labour are still ahead despite Miliband always getting a drubbing from the papers.

pulsetoday.msgfocus.com/c/12oueDxUFrRWmGcEwJ8qFRTl

Just read this on Pulse.
Do you think it is right that hospitals are being encouraged to pay GPs to work in hospitals?
Surely a GP works locally. I do not want to have to drive and pay for parking at my 'local' hospital just to see a GP.
Or have I got this wrong? Are hospitals just supposed to make money out of local GP practices?

For anyone who thinks the Tories are okay, I sincerely hope that you do not agree that these are the sort of people you want as MPs.

https://www.opendemocracy.net/ournhs/alan-taman/tories-filibuster-to-stall-labour%27s-nhs-bill

It's not yet supposed to be the silly season.

I presume you've all heard on the news about the King's Fund and what it says on what the coalition has done to the NHS?

nhap.org/nha-party-vindicated-nhs-warnings/

durhamjen

Thank you for the link but that was not. the one I was referring to.

It was a link you put up on the Health Forum, The NHS Again, I believe and I responded on 12th Jan 10.57

I can't find your link

It was a link you put up to a left wing blogger called Andrew Robertson.

I said whilst he was a left wing blogger I thought the link was fairly balanced.

What I liked about it was his policy to not only list conservative connections to the private health companies but the Labour/Lib Dems and Lords he knows of!!!! Such as Frank Dobson, Alistair Darling and David Miliband.

I said I thought his response to one of the posters on his blog summed up the state of play rather well.

Somebody asked him why Labour started the privatisation of the NHS.

His reply:-

"Because they (Labour) also represented the market, shared the ideology and 'obtained the vested interests'.

That link .

There are quite a few sites that mention Labour and privatisation (not right wing) but I haven't a clue how to put them up.

Sorry, POGS but I am not going to look for a link for you.
I am told I put up too many links anyway, and you do not read them.

But here is a link for you.

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/the-tragic-tale-of-the-pensioner-who-killed-himself-after-begging-for-help-over-benefit-cuts-10029754.html

It's not just a tragedy for the pensioner, but for the boys who tried to save him. It's also appalling that people sat in their cars and did nothing to help.
Is that what this country is coming to? What was it Thatcher said, no such thing as community, just lots of individuals.

Just read this. I think it is very interesting; more to the point I hope it is right.

www.politics.co.uk/blogs/2015/02/06/even-if-labour-wins-fewer-seats-it-can-still-win-the-electio

This is what the Tories can do to the NHS already. Think what will happen if they get voted in again.

www.buzzfeed.com/solomonhughes/nhs-contract-stoke

Malcolm Rifkind is on the board of the company that was awarded the contract. He gets £60,000 per year for attending these meetings.
Isn't that more or less the amount he gets for being an MP?

www.politics.co.uk/blogs/2015/02/09/big-business-is-making-ed-miliband-s-case-for-him

Just received an email telling me this.

"I read in the Unison magazine today that NHS England has invited tenders from private companies to bid for all of the support groups who employ about 1,800 people. The contract, which is one of largest ever in the NHS is worth £1 billion over 10 years.
NHS England has refused to consider an 'in-house' option and work on an NHS bid has been shelved.

The board of NHS England will meet in Leeds on 26 March. Unison will be lobbying against this contract.

The health secretary of Unison Christina McAnea says that, "This government is running hell for leather to privatise as much as they can before the election". "

I thought the Kings Fund said that privatisation wasn't happening.

In the I today - "US hospitals group sets its sights on NHS work".

The Cleveland Clinic has hired British consultants to help it explore potential work in the UK following the general election, should the role of private companies in providing services to the NHS be expanded.

"The clinic's targeting of the UK is a reflection of the international interest in the already heated pre-election debate on the future of the NHS." .....................

"If competition rules were changed by a future government, the value of private-sector business deals could rise further........... a launch [of the Cleveland Clinic] in the UK could have a "game-changing" impact on private involvement in state-funded healthcare."

If Unison thinks privatisation is gathering speed before the election - even though it is a controversial issue for many people and risks losing votes for the Conservative Party - I believe that if the Conservatives return to office there will be an absolute deluge of privatisation. That is why the US private healthcare vultures are already circling.

They have their people in place anyway, in the higher echelons of the NHS.
Simon Stevens is probably still paid by United Health.
Sickening, isn't It?

A very long read.

nhap.org/nhs-scaremongerers-nha-party-dr-clive-peedell-dr-louise-irvine-dr-paul-hobday-dr-bob-gill/

This is an article from an American who has lived in London since 2011.

https://www.opendemocracy.net/ournhs/jason-hickel/take-it-from-american-britain%27s-nhs-is-as-good-as-it-gets

Good to know what he thinks of the NHS.

I agree that it looks like people and companies are circling.

Does any of them say what Labour's policy is on privatisation?
Or the other parties?

I can google if necessary.

The NHS is but one aspect of Government.

But it is one of, if not the most important.
Can you imagine what would happen in this country if the NHS went back to what it was before the second world war? How would we pay for it? How many of us would be dead by now if we had to pay for all our prescriptions?
I know my grandfather died because he and his wife could not afford medication that he needed.

I dont think that the electorate would put up with that.
There would be strikes and riots. Not to mention the political party not getting votes.

I get that you are scared.

And very sorry about your grandfather