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The general election isn’t a referendum about a bacon butty. It’s a referendum on the NHS.
The 2015 general election isn’t a referendum about what exactly someone eating a bacon butty looks like. It’s a referendum on the NHS.
The Tories think the general public is utterly stupid. They think that if they subject Wales to an intense smear campaign about the NHS discussing the English NHS will be ‘out of bounds’.
The Tories must think English voters were all born yesterday. They think nobody will care about the £2.4 billion disastrous reforms which propelled competition law and costly admin into the NHS. They think nobody will care about these reforms which nobody voted for.
If the Health and Social Care Act (2012) was the solution, what was the exact problem? It can’t have been patient safety, even though Jeremy Hunt has repeatedly referred to Mid Staffs since becoming the Secretary of State for Health. Cheap political point scoring has been vulgar under this Government. Labour never cited Harold Shipman’s style as a Doctor as a failure of a Conservative administration.
It’s perfectly correct that Labour should ask about what has happened under the lifetime of this Government in units such as Colchester. There the “major incident” is not an outbreak of Ebola, but an outbreak of dangerous staffing. What is not reasonable to do is to engulf the hardworking nurses and Doctors in a culture of blame and shame, vilifying them for not having been given the tools to do the job.
The Health and Social Care Act (2012) cannot have been the solution if patient safety was the solution, as there is only one clause in this Act regarding patient safety. And that clause was in fact to abolish the National Patient Safety Agency. The real petrol in the tank of this Act is the mechanism which puts contracts out to competitive tendering, meaning that NHS services had a way of being aggressively pimped to the private sector.
It’s simply utterly fraudulent to say that this is how it’s always been under Labour. For a start, Justice Silber in the Lewisham judgment gave clear reasons how the law had changed under this Government, and why Jeremy Hunt’s decision was unlawful in the High Court. It was not only unlawful in the High Court, but it was also unlawful in the Court of Appeal. And was that a good use of hardworking taxpayers’ money? To pay Hunt’s lawyers for this dead-duck case, money was used which could have been used to give a pay rise to the majority of nurses, a pay rise which they were denied yet again.
Furthermore, this Government at shotgun notice legislated for a torpedo hospital closure clause, with the Liberal Democrats on the accelerator pedal. None of us are Luddites, but it’s utterly vulgar to present cuts under the cover of reconfigurations.
Things have fundamentally changed, in that people are now genuinely scared about the direction of travel. The National Health Service should be run for people, not profit. It should offer integrated health and care, not competitive tendering. Before the last election, the NHS was not an issue. Now people are taking to the streets over hospital closures and GP surgery closures. The record all-time high in satisfaction before the last election has now disappeared following the top down reorganisation which nobody voted for.
A&E waits have been disastrous. The length of time it takes to see your GP for a ‘routine appointment’ has become a joke in some parts of the country. And yet the current Government seem utterly divorced from reality – while Rome burns, Jeremy Hunt is fiddling away another sham policy in the guise of a 24/7 NHS.
What is clear is that Lynton Crosby wants to make the general election of May 7th 2015 a referendum on Ed Miliband eating a bacon butty.
It’s not that. It’s a referendum on the state of the NHS.
Cameron won't get as far as holding a referendum in 2017, as he'll have been shown the door long before then.
The reply “The Tories just feel like crap managers” was in response to my recent question, “Do you think people are excited about politics?” Suzanne Moore instead suggested, “Yes but not the political system or way it is represented.” Olivia simply replied, “If people were excited about politics wouldn’t more people vote? The fact that so few actually bother to vote, suggests that people are far from excited about politics.”
Unusually, somebody in her 60s last week told me that she and her husband were determined to vote in the General Election anticipated around June 2015. Vicky and John are not impressed by the current incumbents but feel passionately that any party is better than ‘this lot’. Returning to the answer, “The Tories are just crap managers”, there is an overwhelming feeling amongst my friends in real life, my 3000 friends on Facebook and 7000 followers on Twitter amongst both my accounts that the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats are playing for time. They offer no leadership, and are sub-standard managers.
They have bungled the forests issue, raised tuition fees, scrapped Building Schools for the Future, scrapped education support allowance, killed a growing economy from 2010, told Europe that they only wish to be in Europe on their own terms, unilaterally decided to scrap GCSEs, outsourced the NHS on the way to privatising it, produced a shambolic budget last year with numerous U-turns, and shut libraries.
The £3bn re-organisation of the NHS, which nobody voted for, was probably the pièce de resistance. The Conservatives have done a disgraceful job of explaining what these reforms mean, and the BBC have made no effort in explaining what is clearly a very significant issue of public interest. The public are none-the-wiser that NHS services have been completely thrown open to the private sector, such that you can walk into a walk-in centre with it having NHS branding but being run to maximise shareholder dividend for a private company. The medical Royal Colleges all opposed it, as did the BMA and the Royal College of Nursing. The marketisation of the NHS means that the service cannot be guaranteed to be anywhere near comprehensive, and already evidence is accruing of definite examples of rationing (e.g. in cataract surgery).
A similar disenfranchisement of key professionals was seen in the high street with the Government, the Conservatives enabled by the Liberal Democrats, ramraiding through the ‘Legal Aid and Sentencing of Offenders Act’ which has seen destruction of legal aid on the high street, killing off access-to-justice for social justice fields such as housing, immigration and asylum, welfare benefits and employment. The marketisation of law on the high-street means that the public are left with an incomplete fragmented service, and again these ‘reforms’ were officially opposed by the Law Society and the Bar Council.
A third disgrace has been the “reform” of GCSEs. Michael Gove barged through processes which meant that even examining in last year’s GCSE English ended up being a shambles, and had to go for judicial review in the Queen’s Bench Division of the High Court. The teachers, notably the National Union of Teachers, were not consulted about the changes to the GCSE system, a completely ludicrous state of affairs that there are GCSE courses presently in progress.
The “political process” is the third arm of the long-awaited policy review of the UK Labour Party. Whilst millions will have been spent cumulatively on the Scotland referendum, and the AV referendum, and on the introduction of Police Commissioners, there is no doubt that the political process is broken. David Cameron’s talk of holding a referendum in 2017 shows complete contempt that he has disconnected him and his party from major areas of society. The list goes on – disabled citizens are sick of the welfare reforms in progress, with the disastrous introduction of the ‘Personal Independent Payment’ following fast after the pitiful administration of Work Capacity Benefits by the Department of Work and Pensions.
Cameron won’t get as far as holding a referendum in 2017, as he’ll have been shown the door long before then.
David Cameron's red meat to the Euroskeptics
‘positive vision for the future of the EU – a future in which Britain wants, and should want, to play a committed and active part’
Currently, the EU is positive. David Cameron throwing tantrums (sic) and walking out on negotiations simply gives the perception of an arrogant Little Englander who has no sense of solidarity in the European Union. The European market is built on the social and legal basis of giving no party unfair advantage, which is why many citizens in the UK do not agree with any stance that we should opt out of discrimination legislation, or have ‘special rules’ for the City compared to the rest of the world. The rest of the world are equally successful, if not more successful. We in the UK are about to enter a triple-dip.
‘The next Conservative manifesto in 2015 will ask for a mandate from the British people for a Conservative government to negotiate a new settlement with our European partners in the next parliament.’
It is well known that the chances of a Conservative victory in June 2015 are vanishingly small. Even if you take the view they can take seats off UKIP, currently UKIP are projected to get zero seats.
‘holding an in/out referendum now would be a “false choice”
No business would willingly defer drafting up a business plan until 2017, for fear of uncertainty. This knocks dead Cameron’s “false choice”argument.
‘And when we have negotiated that new settlement, we will give the British people a referendum with a very simple in or out choice to stay in the EU on these new terms; or come out altogether. It will be an in-out referendum.’
Cameron is currently set to have bargained a referendum on Scotland as well as AV. These referenda cost millions of pounds. He never offered a referendum on the privatisation of the NHS, which is currently in progress.
‘will fail and the British people will drift towards the exit’
Currently, there is more of a question of Nick Clegg drifting towards the exit, taking his Liberal Democrat party with him. His position and that of his party, having sold out on libraries, the economy, the NHS and welfare, is irrelevant.
‘Today, public disillusionment with the EU is at an all-time high’
The ‘democratic deficit’, with laws and policies being implemented which nobody voted for, such as the privatisation of the NHS and the scandal of the fiasco of disabled benefits, means that disillusionment with the Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats is at an all-time high.
‘People feel that the EU is heading in a direction that they never signed up to. They resent the interference in our national life by what they see as unnecessary rules and regulation. And they wonder what the point of it all is.’
People do not object to protection from racial discrimination, or being sacked without warning. The European Time Directive serves a purpose of stopping doctors making decisions which compromise patient safety, for example, and it is entirely up to our Government how it wishes to implement it in any case.
The European Union that emerges from the eurozone crisis is going to be a very different body’
The Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have been wishing for the European economy to implode, so that it can deflect attention from their mismanagement of the economy. The UK in May 2010 had fragile growth, totally throttled by killing off UK infrastructure investment and murdering consumer demand.
‘And when we have negotiated that new settlement, we will give the British people a referendum with a very simple in or out choice to stay in the EU on these new terms; or come out altogether. It will be an in/out referendum’
It is necessary to have the precise terms of this referendum urgently, prior to any talk of the electorate deciding on the ‘yes/no’ on the basis of these terms.
‘Legislation will be drafted before the next election. And if a Conservative Government is elected we will introduce the enabling legislation immediately and pass it by the end of that year.’
As above.
‘And we will complete this negotiation and hold this referendum within the first half of the next Parliament.’
As above.
‘I believe something very deeply. That Britain’s national interest is best served in a flexible, adaptable and open European Union. And that such a European Union is best with Britain in it.’
Cameron was equally passionate about ‘no further top-down reorganisations’. It therefore does not matter at all what he believes deeply in, or not.
‘Over the coming weeks, months and years, I will not rest until this debate is won. For the future of my country. For the success of the European Union. And for the prosperity of our peoples for generations to come.’
Cameron is doing this entirely to save face in his Party. The European Union can easily continue without him, but Cameron’s political gamble will unfortunately be putting real people and their jobs at risk.
"Yes to AV" campaign from Jonathan Walsh
Jonathan Walsh writes:
Well here we are, just three days to go.
Since we launched Yes to Fairer Votes on 5 November 2010, thousands of people have come together at hundreds of events across London, and the UK.
The incredible movement we’ve built shows how much this referendum matters; your tireless dedication shows how much the country is crying out for change. But with just three days left, we can’t lose momentum now.
You’ve still got time – right up until 10pm on Thursday, you can make a difference. Once polling closes though, your chance to change the way we vote is over forever.
Don’t let the moment pass you by – use these three days to hit the streets and get on the phones whenever you can, and please give as much time as possible on 4 and 5 May:
http://www.yestofairervotes.org/This-is-it-London
Polling day is going to be absolutely crucial. This referendum will be won or lost on turnout – simple as that. Whichever campaign gets their voters to the polls will decide the course of British politics for generations to come.
So what’s it to be next Monday? Back to Westminster politics as usual or a clear statement that enough is enough?
Can you spare a couple of hours, or a whole day? Either way, sign up to be part of our “Get out the vote” movement, and this historic campaign – before it’s too late.
http://www.yestofairervotes.org/This-is-it-London
Thursday 5 May will be a historic moment for the UK. It’s up to us to make sure the history books tell the story of change – a story of people coming together to defeat the institutional old guard and win a fairer democracy for everyone.
Thanks,
Jonathan Walsh
P.S. Thursday is crucial, but every hour before it matters. Find details for your nearest activities here:
Shibley's AV poll
Whether you voted for Ed Miliband, David Miliband, Ed Balls, Andy Burnham or Diane Abbott, or none of them, please complete this survey. It takes about 10 minutes to complete. There are 22 questions which should be answered YES or NO. You must be a Labour voter to take part. Please do not take part if you are a non-Labour voter.
Create your free online surveys with SurveyMonkey, the world’s leading questionnaire tool.
For interest, the questions are reproduced here.
This survey is simply an exploration of views on the AV – the Alternative Vote.
Please only complete this survey if you are a Labour voter (although the issues are not party-political, officially).
This survey consists of 22 very brief YES or NO questions.
Thank you for agreeing to do this survey.
The survey will close at 11.59 pm on 10th December 2010.
What is AV?
Put simply, under our current system – sometimes referred to as First-Past-the-Post – the candidate that gets the most votes in an individual constituency is elected as the MP. The party with more MPs than all the other parties put together then forms the government.
Under AV – the Alternative Vote – the voters rank candidates in order of preference and anyone getting more than 50% in the first round is elected. If that doesn’t happen, the candidate with the fewest votes is eliminated and their second choices are allocated to the remaining candidates. If no candidate at the second stage has a majority of votes, the next lowest candidate is eliminated and their votes are redistributed. This process keeps on occurring until a winner emerges.
QUESTIONS 1-9. Please answer the following general questions.
1. At the beginning of this survey, do you feel that the UK should we have a system of AV?
2. Do you think that an AV referendum is a top political priority, given other recent political events?
3. Would the official Labour party line be relevant to how you vote?
4. Should Labour have specific policy on how to vote in the referendum?
5. Do you think that coalitions break promises?
6. Do you think that Britain should have a system of coalitions?
7. Would AV encourage a hung parliament?
8. Would it worry you if the AV vote encouraged a coalition?
9. Would you consider voting no to AV if Nick Clegg remained as Leader of the Liberal Democrats.
QUESTIONS 10-15 The following reasons have been put forward as reasons to vote for AV. For each reason, do you fundamentally agree with the statement as given?
10. The Alternative Vote is a fairer and more democratic way of electing our parliament
11. All MPs would have the support of a majority of their voters.
12. It penalises extremist parties.
13. It eliminates the need for tactical voting.
14. It encourages candidates to chase second- and third-preferences.
15. It retains the same constituencies, meaning no need to redraw boundaries, and no overt erosion of the constituency-MP link.
QUESTIONS 16-20 And do these issues matter?
16. Does it matter the MPs would have the majority of their voters?
17. Does it matter that it penalizes extremist parties?
18. Does it matter if it eliminates the need for tactical voting?
19. Does it matter that the constituencies are the same?
20. Does it matter whether it encourages candidates to chase second- and third-preferences?
GENERAL QUESTIONS
21. And finally, at the end of survey, do you feel that the UK should we have a system of AV?
22. Are you likely to be influenced by any campaigning on this selective issue?
Thank you for completing this survey.
