Brown poisons Labour's health reform message

Adam McNestrie

These figures seem to reflect an underlying shift in what people think important to NHS success or failure. In the past the key has been the strength of a party’s commitment to the NHS. That the Labour Party had such a strong emotional identification with the NHS and the myth of its founding meant that they were seen as having the political will to do whatever was necessary to “save the NHS.” Now it isn’t about “saving” the NHS, but making it more efficient and less wasteful.

The country no longer trusts the Labour Party – the party of the Credit Crunch, Northern Rock, the lost discs and bungled tax reforms – to run something well. When the parties are judged on their administrative competence, when we want managerialism, people are turning to the Conservatives.

Read more of my views at my blog, Just who the hell are we? on wordpress.com, at:
http://adammcnestrie.wordpress.com/

Searcher

Ending the postcode lottery – on the Today programme this morning, some genius from the King’s Fund told us that this would mean that no-one would receive worse care because of where they lived, but then again, with local choice as the NHS strived to improve, some people would get a better service.

Another way to address the postcode lottery would be to have locally elected executive health boards with real authority and responsibility.

Elizabeth

Actually I couldn't see anything too bad about the NHS until the Labour government opened it up to most of the planet on a need to use basis and some - what? 5,000,000 immigrants on the NHS books in 10 years.
All those foreign doctors and nurses, not a few with completely fraudulent qualifications - one of whom nearly killed my son - would never have been required for our existing, and we are told declining, population.
Doesn't the word decline sound good as you try to move around the M25 at 9.30 or get within 10 miles of a beach on a hot day.
Allow mass immigration and you also have to have the immigrants to nurse, educate etc etc those same folk. Its what is termed a vicious circle. Very vicious for the long suffering English population. We get third rate treatment at best, after Scotland and Wales.
We the Brits, who do not require cheap labour or are not among the nannying classes have gained nothing from this immigration except ever bigger traffic jams, declining standards in schools, the said NHS and virtually everything else.
The problem with the NHS is there are too many demands made against it. Demands still going up by thousands each week, both legal or illegal.

David C

Brown has placed himself in an impossible position.
There will be reforms that the public would support, but as soon as Brown's name is mentioned, the support would vanish.
This mirrors somewhat Michael Howard’s position before the last election. The conservatives had policies with which people agreed, but as soon as the label 'conservative' was attached, the voters turned away in droves.
Now the public no longer look at the legislation because Brown, the man, gets in the way. He is a policy ‘black hole’; anything that falls within his influence is drawn down to destruction.
If the Labour Party doesn’t recognise this then they have no chance of saving themselves as a functioning political entity at the next election.

As an aside, it might be interesting to note what has happened to the ‘42 days’ measure in the minds of the public.
Is it more popular or less popular now?
David Davis is not a particular charismatic person, but he has popular support.
Is this because he is perceived to have integrity?

Nicholas

Elizabeth: a lot of the issues facing us have their roots in the 10 years of uncontrolled mass immigration sponsored, supported and presided over by New Labour.

David Lindsay

The Tories eventually voted against it because of technicalities, but it had been in all three manifestos in 1945, and they returned to office when, in serious financial trouble, it was still only three years old.

Had they not believed in it, then it would not have existed since the early Fifties. Yet instead, even Margaret Thatcher largely left it alone.

But then along came a government with deep roots among those who most hate the Labour Movement and its achievements, correctly identifying both it and them as the reasons why there was never a Marxist revolution in this, one of the two countries that Marx himself deemed most likely to have one (the other was Germany).

And they have now taken over all three parties.

Verity

Mass immigration has been intentionally employed as a tool to destroy Britain. Regarding the NHS, I personally would not want to be treated by a black doctor from overseas. Sorry, but he or she would not be accustomed to signs of illness in the native population, which owns the NHS, whereas Caucasian doctors are alert to changes in skin tones and recognise paleness as being a symptom. Also, white skin is thinner than black skin - to let in more life-giving sunshine - and levels of surface pain will also be different.

There are also people from a very alien, hidebound culture who, as women, refuse to wash their forearms with soap and water and disinfectant before examining patients because it's "against their religion". The NHS is thinking of ways to accommodate them.

We have British trained doctors unable to find a place in the NHS in Britain due to all the immigrants, who don't understand our habits or our way of life, occupying the space.

Verity

Speaking of inappropriate, I see Adam McPestry is still banging away at his self-involved self-promotion.

Read more of McPestry's unengaging views at his blog Just Who The Hell Cares? on blah blah blah blah.