The Spectator's notes

20 October 2007

Charles Moore on what really did for Ming Campbell

There is much complaint that ‘ageism’ has toppled Sir Menzies Campbell. In theory, one must deplore prejudice against advancing years. Political leadership should come after accumulating decades of wisdom, rather than being treated, as Tony Blair seems to regard the premiership, as something to put on your CV. But the trouble is that Sir Ming’s leadership of the Liberals did exemplify the things that genuinely do get worse with age. He showed a slowness, a lack of mental agility, an imperviousness to new ideas. It was as if he were deaf. However, this column’s main explanation for his fall is the curse of the Iraq war. One should never tire of pointing out that all the leaders, in the English-speaking world at least, who supported it — George Bush, Tony Blair and John Howard — were re-elected, whereas politicians who opposed it — Chirac, Gerhard Schröder, John Kerry (sort of), not to mention our own Charles Kennedy — got into trouble. So has Sir Ming. People say that he was marvellous about foreign affairs, less successful on domestic issues. Actually, he was ghastly on foreign policy, somehow managing to be platitudinous and wrong at the same time. Although the Iraq war is unpopular, politicians who denounce it exude smugness, and subliminally seem to have a vested interest in failure.

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MK

October 18th, 2007 11:07am Report this comment

Your statement about nurses is crude, insensitive and harsh but actually fair. In fact you could also include us doctors! Sadly you have missed the point about hospital infections. Medical staff unwittingly contribute to the problem. Male doctors should probably never wear ties and smart trousers. Jackets and long sleeves have already being outlawed in some hospitals! It will be too expensive to implement full uniforms and changing rooms for NHS staff so the infection rates are unlikely to drop dramatically. MRSA, C.Diff, VRE, MREC etc. are not just excerbated by bed pressures and targets. The hospital environments are not properly cleaned(this really started in the 1980s) and the designs of these new PFI hospitals(early 2000s) are grossly inadequate with too few private, "side" rooms and too few disposable curtains. The spores of C.Diff can remain in the environment even when chlorine-based agents have been used. Once you have dealt with C.Diff, you then need to consider that there will be more and more resistant microbes emerging which have evolved as a result of modern farming practices involving blanket antibiotic use. Ordinary Joanna Public carries some of these resistant superbugs around her even when feeling well. This government is quite cluelesss about hospital infections and should have imported the more expensive but "safer" methods of providing healthcare used widely in continental Western Europe. Both main parties are responsible for the current mess. Michael Howard's 2005 election bullet points are beginning to look more and more sensible each week......

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