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I voted for Tony Blair...

Dr John Crippen Sun Jun 25, 2006 at 05:06:22 PM GMT Facebook

I voted for Tony Blair in 1997.

I had never voted Labour before. But like many middle of the road, moderate, libertarians I found I was being squeezed out of the left wing of the Conservative Party. I felt a lack of compassion in a Government now redolent of the last days of the Roman Empire.

As a busy family doctor with (then) four very young children the two most important things to me were education and health care. I was prepared to tighten my belt for higher taxation but felt secure that better schools and hospitals would emerge.

So I voted for Tony Blair.

Tony was caring. Tony had compassion. And he would be backed up by dour financial prudence from Gordon. The first change in health care was the abolition of GP fundholding, the system introduced by Thatcher in which the money followed the patient. This had dramatically improved the care I could get for my patients. Hospitals had to listen or we took our business elsewhere. Not only did fundholding go, but also the GPs right to refer patients to the hospital of their choice. For the first time since 1948 we could only use local hospitals.

And I voted for Tony Blair.

The standard of state education deteriorated. There was a growth of "teaching assistants" in the classroom - housewives "with an interest". We decided to educate our children privately. It has not been easy. But once you put your children into the private sector, it is hard to pull them out for the local comprehensive. And then I found that Tony Blair was not using comprehensives for his children either.

And I voted for Tony Blair.

It became clear that Labour did not trust professionals, in either health care or teaching, to do their own jobs without central supervision. Enter the bean counters. The box tickers. And then, the management consultants. Lack of professional autonomy. Targets. (http://nhsblogdoc.blogspot.com/2006/01/two-week-rule.html) Tony and Patricia wanted every patient in the NHS to have their operation within six months. And they have sort of achieved that. You will have your hernia and varicose veins done in six months. But that has blocked the beds. You will also get your cancer operation in six months, but you need that immediately. Tony Blair had his cardiac surgery on the NHS immediately. I have had patients waiting for nearly a year for that very same surgery. But the government says all was well. (http://nhsblogdoc.blogspot.com/2006/02/but-how-long-is-queue.html)

And I voted for Tony Blair.

I am disillusioned. As someone who voted, perhaps uncharacteristically, for Labour in 1997 I feel I cannot do it again. I bought an image. I voted for a smile. I put a man with a smile and a clean blackboard it to office. Worst of all, the man with the clean blackboard has taken me to war on the basis of a lie.

Labour needs me. That sounds arrogant. I do not mean it to be. There are a lot of middle of the road "mes". At the moment, though, I am attracted to David Cameron. He is young. He is enthusiastic. He seems compassionate. Trouble is, this reminds me very much of the feeling I had in 1997. I am not going to get caught again. A sleigh-ride in the snow makes good TV but, once again, the blackboard is still clean.

Where to go next?

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tags: NHS, Health (all tags)

I voted for Tony Blair... | 28 comments (28 topical)

Re: I voted for Tony Blair... (#1)

by alexhilton on Sun Jun 25, 2006 at 05:19:44 PM GMT

Dr Crippen,

Three years ago my father had a heart attack, he was whisked into our local hospital, transferred to the London Chest hospital and had had a quadruple heart bypass operation and was back at home - all within one month. In fact it was boxing day so I remember the dates (and the pretty rough Christmas) very clearly.

The thing is, my dad (who's still revelling in his newfound health btw) was over the age of 70. Are you telling me that he would have had the same standard of care in the same timeframe under either the last Tory Government that deprioritised heart care for older people or from David Cameron, George Osbourne and his merry band of privatisers?

In no way am I saying we have done everything perfectly in Government - but I am convinced that my father is alive because of health service refoms instituted since 1997. So don't just vote Labour, join the party, influence the party and improve it because it's the only mainstream party committed to the NHS.

Re: I voted for Tony Blair... (#2)

by Dr John Crippen on Sun Jun 25, 2006 at 05:28:22 PM GMT

Delighted to hear that he got such good care.

The answer though to the question is yes he would have done. Emphatically so.

The NHS for all its problems, has always delivered well for acute emergencies.

I had a patient only two weeks ago who presented to me with a history of sudden onset apparently mild angina. I referred him for an urgent exercise test. It was done four days later. The test showed the angina was much more serious than thought. He was transferred the same day to a cardiac surery unit and was stented the next day.

It does not get better than that. Interestingly, he had BUPA... but he did not need it.

The problem comes, not with emergencies, but with cases which are relatively but not acutely urgent.

Because we have had to chase all Tony's Targets - and get the hernia and varicose veins done - their is no longer the bed capacity to admit these people on a relatively urgent basis. They have to wait.

The target chasing has made it difficult to exercise discretion.

John

[ Parent ]

Re: I voted for Tony Blair... (#3)

by Nick Palmer MP on Sun Jun 25, 2006 at 06:40:40 PM GMT

This is quite a general issue: in most public services the professionals have basically argued "send us the money and we'll use our professional approach to spend it wisely". The problem is that we have to report back to the electorate and persuade them that the money has been well-spent, and unless we identify what we want to do and then show that we've (by and large) done it, we would be wide open to the Daily Mail charge that we've spent the money and have nothing in particular to show for it.
I agree that the NHS has always been fairly good at emergencies, though I think you'll probably accept that some imrpovements are visible here too. The area where we're able to show the clearest improvements are in the middle-ground conditions like cataract removal or hip replacements, where average waiting times really are undeniably much shorter (after allowing for all the stages involved), as well as in preventative medicine (which ironically shows up as negative productivity) such as allowing statin prescription.
I do think that professional morale is improtant and that we may have overdone the pressure. But we have to be sure that ultimately we are first and foremost on the side of patients and pupils, and not 'captured' by the professionals. Hence the need for targets, though I accept they may be excessive.
It still seems to me that the Government's approach of funding public services well but trying to make them more efficient is a reasonable middle-ground position worthy of your support. The Conservatives appear to be proposing to halve the rate of increase of funding, using the other half for tax allowances. When this filters down in practice to your environment, I don't think patient care will benefit.

[ Parent ]

Re: I voted for Tony Blair... (#4)

by Dr John Crippen on Sun Jun 25, 2006 at 07:46:00 PM GMT

Thanks Nick

I agree with much, but not all, of what you say.

Improvement in emergency care? Well, not really. It was pretty good anyway. As discussed the acute life threatening emergencies are dealth with well; it is the relatively urgent stuff that has got logjammed.

The Two Week Rule system has definitely helped expedite cancer referrals. No doubt about that. And yes, I would agree, cataracts, hips, hernias, varicose veins and cold surgery in general is getting done more quickly.

Preventative medicine? It is as you say, difficult to measure that, but it has not improved. Lots of slogans around. Lots of targets. But it has not made much difference in day to day care. My practice is going to be paid ~ £23,500 for mainting our list of smokers. The list is there already. We did it last year. What a waste of money. I object very strongly indeed to being virtually compelled by the government to prescribe ON THE NHS nicotine chewing gum. Smokers spend £10 a day on cigarettes - if they want to give up, why should the taxapayer pay for the gum? It is cheaper than cigarettes. That money would be better spent on, say, drugs for breast cancer.

If you REALLY believed in preventative medicine you would have done something about junk food, about alchopops, about cigarette advertising in sport. Why start teenagers on the road to smoking, binge drinking and obesity and then try to help them 10 years later? It is too late.

I have not got a clue what the Tory policy is on health care. More tinkering around the edges I suspect. If they really do intend to cut funding by 50% they will not be getting my vote, that is for sure. But throwing MORE money at the NHS is not the answer. Nor are more and more Stalinist targets which are strangling professional autonomy and destroying morale.

I am human. I like to be well paid. Over the last two years, I have had a 20% pay rise. I have achieved that by chasing your targets. I am not earning £250,000 a year (I have discussed exactly what I am earning here : http://nhsblogdoc.blogspot.com/2006/04/british-gps-win-eurolottery.html) These targets have an air of plausiblity in them, they are very good for Question Time, but they have little to do with day to day health care.

I feel the money that has been paid to GPs and others could have been better spent. Most of it has not, sadly, gone on healthcare.

John

[ Parent ]

Re: I voted for Tony Blair... (#9)

by archbold on Mon Jun 26, 2006 at 01:30:22 AM GMT

Why did you not vote Labour in 1992? When the NHS was falling apart around our ears, when wards were closing and nurses were losing their jobs. When the doctors were falling asleep at the operating table because they worked so many hours and health profession's wages were an insult or when equipment was so short you had to do midnight raids on other wards just so you could do your job the following day. Why did you not vote labour in 2001 when so much money had been put into the NHS? When we got more doctors, more nurses and better equipment. Why did you not vote Labour in 2005 when the Conservatives wanted to effectively privatise the NHS? Arrogance you ask. Sometimes I wonder whether the medical profession will ever remove there middle class blinkers and actually be grateful for having a labour government which has done more to save the NHS than any other government in history.

[ Parent ]

: Re: I voted for Tony Blair... (#19)

by abeggs on Mon Jun 26, 2006 at 05:03:38 PM GMT

I'm a labour voter, and a junior doctor, but I have to disagree with archbolds comments.
Compare 1992 with 2006...
..when wards were closing and nurses were losing their jobs...
They've just closed 3 wards at my hospital - a London teaching hospital, 200 jobs have been made redundant as well
doctors were falling asleep at the operating table because they worked so many hours
I worked 102 hours last week... so much for the European Working Time Directive.
...health profession's wages were an insult..
My salary has been cut by 20% in the last year, I don't work any less than I did before.
equipment was so short you had to do midnight raids on other wards just so you could do your job the following day
Er.. this still happens. Not every ward has a cardiac arrest trolley and wards routinely share ECG machines. We ran out of an antibiotic the other day.
The NHS has not been "saved", in fact it has got worse since I joined it 4 years ago. I get sick of the Department of Health telling me everything is "better". It is not.

[ Parent ]

Re: I voted for Tony Blair... (#5)

by WillParbury on Sun Jun 25, 2006 at 08:17:09 PM GMT

>The standard of state education deteriorated.

On what evidence? Stop reading the Daily Mail.

>There was a growth of "teaching assistants" in >the classroom - housewives "with an interest".

This is grossly misinformed. I'm a school governor and recently took part in the recruitment of a teaching assistant. We had very many well qualified candidates- over 50 applications for one post. We didn't even shortlist some people who had MA's. In the end we inteviewed 4 highly experienced and qualified people and i'm sure the person we did employ will do a superb job.

Teaching assistants play a role in the classroom that is very important - housewives "with an interest" is just plain wrong.

I hope for your patients sake that your better informed about medicine than you are about education.

Re: I voted for Tony Blair... (#6)

by Dr John Crippen on Sun Jun 25, 2006 at 08:43:26 PM GMT

Thanks Will

Not my experience, I am afraid. I am glad it is the experience in your school though.

Why can we not have real teachers in all schools?

This is the "dumbing down" of the education system, just as the health service is being dumbed down.

In the health service we have the "health care professionals" (a.k.a. there is no doctor available). We have "nurse specialists" and "nurse practitioners". The EMTs are now front-ending Casualty departments. None of these people are doctors. But they are all doing jobs that traditionally were done by doctors.

Of course, these people do not treat private patients. Private patients see doctors.

My four children are at (three different) private schools. They are taught by professional teachers. Teachers who, apart from their degrees, have done a vocational teacher's training course.

"Teacing assistants" are a negation of the training that our teachers have received. I want my children taught by professional teachers, in schools with proper facilities. I do not want them taught by amateurs.

Sadly, a lot of comprehensives cannot meet my requirements. I note that they could not meet Tony Blair's requirements either.

Exactly the same is happening in the NHS. It is dumbing down. Do you think that Tony Blair was treated, as are some of my NHS patients, by the "cardiac nurse practitioner"?

It should not be like this.

John

[ Parent ]

: Re: I voted for Tony Blair... (#7)

by Shinga on Sun Jun 25, 2006 at 09:16:12 PM GMT

There was some publicity given to the BMA committee's report/jeremiad on the mental health of children and adolescent: it was grim reading. There seems to have been a dearth of attempts to cost the recommendations or to combine these with the catastrophe of provision for pupils with Special Educational Needs. The NUT report on the latter makes plenty of complaints about attempting to replicate 'inclusion' on 'the cheap' and the impacts of this both for the teachers and pupils.
Despite the increases in spending, it does look as if comparatively little is achieved when the need is so great. Like healthcare professionals, teachers and teaching assistants seem to attract a lot of criticism despite their goodwill and under-resourced attempts to meet children's needs at a time when their professional autonomy is continually undermined.
I am indebted to Wat Tyler for the figure of speech that it looks as the manifesto of healthcare and education was a seductive catalogue for a fantasy auction of big, extravagant promises.
Regards - Shinga

[ Parent ]

Re: I voted for Tony Blair... (#8)

by paulr on Sun Jun 25, 2006 at 11:26:08 PM GMT

Firstly, a word of praise for this board. I am not a fan of New Labour at all, but they are to be commended (or the site owners are) for allowing dissent.

It's not misinformed. As with most of the rest of the targets, they are reached by gerrymandering.

There may have been improvements hidden in the massive interference, there may not be. You can't tell. (The monitoring quangos are a shambles, incidentally)

For example : Police "Administrative Detections", Education "GNVQs/Dumbing Down" and Doc C. demonstrates the waitinglist for waitinglist perfectly.

In education terms, it is not entirely Labour's fault by any means. When I started teaching, about 10-15% of pupils took A level, and maybe about 10% of those got an "A". Nowadays it's more like 50% taking A levels, and 24% getting an "A". This improvement is simply not credibly achiveable by improvements.

Five minutes with exam papers show that they've been made much easier. I remember picking up the Comp. Sci. A Level in about 1989, the first one post GCSE, and trying to figure out what I was going to teach for two years since my pupils could already answer the questions.

TAs are often Mum's armies. It's a fair comment ; they certainly aren't well qualified, though sometimes they are. They are, mostly, insufficiently qualified to do the HLTAs and CSAs jobs they are being lumped into to save money.

(For Doc C's benefit, these are the Education equivalent of Nurse Quactitioners (Health) and PSCO (Cops) ; cheap unqualified replacements)

[ Parent ]

Re: I voted for Tony Blair... (#10)

by archbold on Mon Jun 26, 2006 at 01:32:21 AM GMT

Re: I voted for Tony Blair... (#11)

by grolma on Mon Jun 26, 2006 at 01:54:42 AM GMT

Im pissed of with them as well. I had expectations of much much better. NHS management is inept ( locally) or disingenious (centrally)

They didnt know the hours worked by the vast majority of consultants before the contract was renegotiated, so it cost more than they thought.They should have known and they didnt.

They didnt know what was happening in GP out of Hours work, and when GPs declined the invitation to do the work, SHAs were dumped with the problem.They should have known and they didnt.

they just chuck money at the system to get a headline about waiting times , with no long-term planning . Constructive destabilisation is what they call it. Seems to me Mr Mickawbers "Something will turn up" is better

CfH and 20 billion pounds on a scheme that TB and some IT salesmen thought up without botherig to ask the people who might know something about it . 2yrs in and parliamentry accountablity nowhere in sight.

Call this competent?

The way NHS issues have been used to generate headlines is sound-bite headlines ( eg Hewitt and herceptin) is an abrogation of responsiblity.

And they have the audacity to label me the 'Forces of Cservatism' who dont go along with this incompetence.

The other lot werer bad but this lot is far far worse.

Re: I voted for Tony Blair... (#12)

by markmcdonald on Mon Jun 26, 2006 at 02:05:13 AM GMT

As a healthcare professional I am shocked by your lack of knowledge on the NHS. I will not repeat all the excellent improvements in the NHS since Labour came to power as it is likely (please forgive me if I am wrong) that you will ignore them. Let us hope that your disillusionment one day turns into a positive contribution to the NHS and not just an ignorant rant.

[ Parent ]

Re: I voted for Tony Blair... (#13)

by Dr John Crippen on Mon Jun 26, 2006 at 02:47:54 AM GMT

Mark

Thank you for taking the time to comment.

Of course you are at liberty to disagree. What you cannot accuse me of is "lack of knowledge" of the NHS. I have been working on the front line for the last twenty years.

I suppose when one has such high ambitions for what could be done for health care, as I did in 1997, the disappointment is all that greater.

I am not trying to make a cheap political point. Far from it. No one is more committed to a decent standard of health care in the UK than I.

It is just not happening.

I want to be constructive. I want to improve things.

With respect, it is a little too easy to say "I will not repeat all the excellent improvements in the NHS". I think you should list them so that they can be discussed.

Like you (I suspect) I was a Blair supporter. It has all gone wrong.

The point of this blog, surely, is to provide a discussion platform so that we can all learn and try to improve things.

Change was needed in health care in 1948, and that great reforming Labour Government did it. But that was nearly sixty years ago. Circumstances are different. Different solutions are needed.

I will not ignore anything. I reserve the right to disagree, but I will not, I repeat, ignore anything.

John

[ Parent ]

: Re: I voted for Tony Blair... (#14)

by markmcdonald on Mon Jun 26, 2006 at 03:13:34 AM GMT

Hi John, my comments were not meant for you but a response to 'grolma'. I think that any comment on your opinions is best summed-up by archbold. As for progress on the NHS I refer you to the Labour Party website. The NHS is not and will never be a perfect institution but it is important that we build and not pull it apart. The policies of the Conservative government took there toll. I worked in casualty at the Birmingham Accident Hospital for many years and fought against the destructive Tory policies. Sadly I failed in fight and thanks to the Tories the hospital is now a car park! I should say that I am a former healthcare professional. I am now a Barrister.

[ Parent ]

Re: I voted for Tony Blair... (#15)

by Labourmum on Mon Jun 26, 2006 at 02:05:36 PM GMT

I am suprised that Dr John(I am considerably richer and cleverer than you) Crippen ever voted labour.With his Tory-boy views I would be suprised if he wasnt a fully paid up member of the conservative party. A socialist he is not! If you read his attrocious views on nurses, midwives, health care workers other than doctors you will see that this man is nothing but a middle class snob with a big chip on his shoulder.Shame on him. He views anyone who does not have medical training as a second class citizen with much fewer brain cells. He gives the doctors of this country a bad name.

: Re: I voted for Tony Blair... (#18)

by labourdavid on Mon Jun 26, 2006 at 03:21:20 PM GMT

This is exactly the type of immature comment that we can do without. Are you still in Sixth Form?
You think that because someone who has worked in the frontline of health for many years disagrees with the way in which the government is running the NHS has a chip on their shoulder? Of course, it's their industry that's being badly mis-managed and they care about it.
Snobbery should not come into it. Your own inverse snobbery and more-prole-than-thou schtick is the real trouble with this party's hinterland. Socialism is about raising standards not dumbing down. We should not have nurse-practitioners dealing with problems after having had an "induction course" as opposed to a doctor having had years of specialist training.
I disagree with Dr Crippen on many issues, particularly his view of free-at-point-of-consumption but I respect him as someone who knows what he is talking about. If you can't make an informed, educated comment; don't bother.

[ Parent ]
: Re: I voted for Tony Blair... (#20)

by Dr John Crippen on Mon Jun 26, 2006 at 05:05:32 PM GMT

Heavens Labourmum! You say:
"I am suprised that Dr John(I am considerably richer and cleverer than you) Crippen ever voted labour.With his Tory-boy views I would be suprised if he wasnt a fully paid up member of the conservative party."
++++++++++++
Why is it not possible to have some constructive debate?
For the record, I am not a "paid up Tory", and I find it odd that you should go on the attack in such an unhelpful way. The Labour party is a broad church and is not doctrinally defined by your views alone.
Can we not find some common ground?
How about:
"We want every UK citizen to have the right to a decent standard of health care"
Would you agree with that?
If you WOULD, then we can start looking at how to achieve that. You have made some pretty underhand remarks about my income. It was the Labour government that decided to throw money at GPs to chase targets. And yes, I chased them. What else can one do? We would have been criticised for being lazy if we had not chased them. We cannot win there. The targets have resulted in us getting a 20% pay rise over the last two years.
I agree with your implication that the money could have been better spent. No doubt about that. If not on health care, then on teachers, who are appallingly badly paid.
The targets, though not totally without merit, have not produced a big improvement in health care.
I have to look after people who cannot access proper care for their cancer, their heart disease and many other things on a reasonable time scale. I desperately hoped that Labour would improve that situation, and they have not.
I want to improve care.
And as regards my views on NPs etc - again you are being unfair. Nurses need to get back to nursing rather than playing at doctors. I am fed up with my NHS patients being treated in out patients by "nurse specialists" whilst the private patients see doctors. Incidentally, before you ask, I do not do private practice myself, I never have, and I never will.
So why don't we get back to discussing ways of improving healthcare rather than being abusive?
John

[ Parent ]

Re: I voted for Tony Blair... (#16)

by snowflake5 on Mon Jun 26, 2006 at 02:45:59 PM GMT

All jobs everywhere involve targets and deadlines, I'm afraid. Salespeople have to do a certain amount of business each month, IT people complete timesheets and work to strict deadlines to deliver projects, advertisers have to prove they delivered the target amount of new business or get canned, people in call-centres have to take a certain amount of calls per hour and typists in insurance companies have to input a certain amount of forms per day or face disciplinary action.

When these business practices were first introduced in the 80's, you got the same response as from yourself - why do I need targets, why do I need supervision, why do I need to prove I'm doing my job, and the usual complaint of "targets won't improve things, they'll make it worse". Yet business stuck to them and they did improve productivity.

I can understand why doctors like yourself feel demeaned at having to hit targets and be supervised. Of course you would rather money was just given to you to be allocated as you wished without any control being exercised by the tax-payer. Join the club - everyone, everywhere, in any job you could name, would like to be given carte blanche to do whatever they want. But all that leads to is sloppy practice and sloppy spending - the debts in some NHS hospitals date back decades and are a result of people spending whatever they wanted and no controls being exercised.

From the point of view of a patient, the government targets are a god-send. The only reason the government introduced targets for how soon you could get a GP's appointment was because, left to your own devices, you weren't delivering. Ditto waiting times in A&E. It's a bloody nuisance that when you go to see a consultant, they are always running late, taking their own sweet time, often because they get diverted into chatty explanations to students in the middle of the appointment, so that you have to take a full day off work for a simple half hour appointment, because you know you could be waiting hours before they get round to you. I wish they'd introduce targets for time-keeping.

Sorry Dr Crippen, you come across as a grand old whinger. You've been given a lot of extra money, and equipment and facilities to do your job. When patients aka tax-payers don't get service, they complain to government, and government cracks the whip. Seems reasonable to me, it's what us voters want. Here's a thought - perhaps if you all behaved more professionally, the government wouldn't have to chase you up with a big stick. I believe that a Tory government would act just the same - it's complete fantasy to believe that they would simply hand you money and give you carte blanche to do what ever you want. Possibly they'd give you less money and crack the whip harder - and I expect that's why you turned from the Tories and voted Labour in 1997. You were looking for a soft touch. And you are looking again. It doesn't exist. Even the touchy-feely Lib Dems would toughen up in government - the voters would force them to.

Re: I voted for Tony Blair... (#17)

by wattyler on Mon Jun 26, 2006 at 03:01:23 PM GMT

Umm...well, actually I didn't vote for Tony, but I don't see why that should stop me commenting.

We all want our public services to be better- that's common ground.

The question of course is how? Reading the comments here, it's quite clear that most Labour supporters still cling to the belief that politicos can make things better by directing operations from the top. Which is where we part company.

The Doc knows first hand- unlike most of us- that the extra money has not delivered the improvements it should have. And the Kings Fund analyses have shown how 80% of the extra money has gone on centrally determined cost increases (pay etc), rather than improvements in services (see eg http://burningourmoney.blogspot.com/2006/01/waste-in-nhs.html ).

No wonder the Doc- and millions like him- won't be voting Labour again any time soon.

Come on guys- what we need is for the spending power to be put into the hands of customers, just like with groceries. Competing social insurers and competing providers is the only way to get European standards of healthcare.

And with the Tories faffing around on glaciers, you guys could steal a march by gripping it.

I might even vote for you.

Well...hmmm...

Re: I voted for Tony Blair... (#21)

by alexhilton on Mon Jun 26, 2006 at 05:47:41 PM GMT

Firstly, when people have been underpaid for helping save lives for a number of years, we shouldn't be embarrassed about spending money on dignified pay levels. We should be particularly proud of the enhanced minimum wage for the NHS.

Secondly, Doctors themselves are doing very well financially though not necessarily because of the rectification of some injustice - it's probably more to do with the BMA having the state over a barrell.

If only Maggie had done to the doctors what she did to the miners and printers. Maybe we would have a Labour government forever...

[ Parent ]

Re: I voted for Tony Blair... (#22)

by johnjcmoss on Tue Jun 27, 2006 at 02:38:56 AM GMT

Likewise I didn't vote Labour. Never have and probably never will because of the terrible harm that socialism does. However....

Dr John's most interesting comment in his original post was the way the removal of fundholding destroyed the ability of devolved spending to acheive better allocation of resources. Wat and I would regognise this, it's called a market and no better way of matching supply and demand, even for life threatening illness, has yet been found. Even TB is coming round to this now.

What frightens me, as a liberal conservative, is that as Cameron rules out the sort of extension of liberalism in health and education that fundholding represented, albeit in a very restricted and constricted way, Labour may well pick it up and run with it. Nothing like the zeal of the convert eh?

I always thought it would take a Labour Government to introduce policy in health and education that no Conservative govt could ever get away with, I just expected that the door would be opened just that ever so tiny amount by Labour. Then then the people - remember them? - would see the potential benefits of liberating these essential public services from the dead hand of the state and vote for the party that actually believed in delivering it.

[ Parent ]

: Re: I voted for Tony Blair... (#23)

by labourdavid on Tue Jun 27, 2006 at 01:59:22 PM GMT

Ah, the clarion call of the free-marketeer. "Liberating public services from the dead hand of the state"?! My word, your rhetoric should be used to highlight the perils of conservatism at its most dangerous.
Privatisation and market forces let loose on public services cause untold damage for generations. Ill-thought out sell offs of nationalised industries under two successive Tory governments enabled monopolistic suppliers to take over where the state left off. Only this time, instead of the workers and the public being the vested interests it became the shareholders.
Wages and employment conditions fell, redundancies became widespread, prices rose, investment fell and directors pocketed fat bonuses despite appalling records of service. The people, remember them, lost out in every way.
And you want to let the market loose on the NHS????

[ Parent ]

Re: yyy333 (#24)

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Re: I voted for Tony Blair... (#25)

by jiejie85 on Mon Sep 18, 2006 at 06:30:12 PM GMT

求佛流行音乐跟踪日志 MP3选购指南手机选购指南 jiejie85的手机世界 beibei的共享空间姐姐游戏世界求佛老公老公我爱你一万个理由香水有毒老婆老婆我爱你不怕不怕寂寞沙洲冷吉祥三宝不要再来伤害我披着羊皮的狼隐形的翅膀大城小爱桃花朵朵开神话曹操那一夜狼爱上羊你是我的玫瑰花死了都要爱上海滩生日礼物三只小熊发如雪夜曲不得不爱爱如空气笔记不想长大反转地球飞舞宁夏眉飞色舞两只小蜜蜂 QQ爱爸爸妈妈香飘飘香水百合我不后悔约定童话舞娘嘻唰唰两只蝴蝶飞行部落累斗累认真的雪报答秋天不回来寻找李慧珍瞬间倾心恒久钟情求佛铃声老公老公我爱你铃声一万个理由铃声香水有毒铃声老婆老婆我爱你铃声不怕不怕铃声寂寞沙洲冷铃声吉祥三宝铃声不要再来伤害我铃声披着羊皮的狼铃声隐形的翅膀铃声大城小爱铃声桃花朵朵开铃声神话铃声曹操铃声那一夜铃声狼爱上羊铃声你是我的玫瑰花铃声死了都要爱铃声上海滩铃声生日礼物铃声三只小熊铃声发如雪铃声夜曲铃声不得不爱铃声爱如空气铃声笔记铃声不想长大铃声反转地球铃声飞舞铃声宁夏铃声眉飞色舞铃声两只小蜜蜂铃声 QQ爱铃声爸爸妈妈铃声香飘飘铃声香水百合铃声我不后悔铃声约定铃声童话铃声舞娘铃声嘻唰唰铃声两只蝴蝶铃声飞行部落铃声累斗累铃声认真的雪铃声报答铃声秋天不回来铃声寻找李慧珍铃声瞬间倾心恒久钟情铃声求佛铃声下载老公老公我爱你铃声下载一万个理由铃声下载香水有毒铃声下载老婆老婆我爱你铃声下载不怕不怕铃声下载寂寞沙洲冷铃声下载吉祥三宝铃声下载不要再来伤害我铃声下载披着羊皮的狼铃声下载隐形的翅膀铃声下载大城小爱铃声下载桃花朵朵开铃声下载神话铃声下载曹操铃声下载那一夜铃声下载狼爱上羊铃声下载你是我的玫瑰花铃声下载死了都要爱铃声下载上海滩铃声下载生日礼物铃声下载三只小熊铃声下载发如雪铃声下载夜曲铃声下载不得不爱铃声下载爱如空气铃声下载笔记铃声下载不想长大铃声下载反转地球铃声下载飞舞铃声下载宁夏铃声下载眉飞色舞铃声下载两只小蜜蜂铃声下载 QQ爱铃声下载爸爸妈妈铃声下载香飘飘铃声下载香水百合铃声下载我不后悔铃声下载约定铃声下载童话铃声下载舞娘铃声下载嘻唰唰铃声下载两只蝴蝶铃声下载飞行部落铃声下载累斗累铃声下载认真的雪铃声下载报答铃声下载秋天不回来铃声下载寻找李慧珍铃声下载瞬间倾心恒久钟情铃声下载

Re: I voted for Tony Blair... (#26)

by Anonymous on Sun Oct 08, 2006 at 10:00:19 AM GMT

Back to the roots.

LabourHome - back to the roots.

Link Cosmos

I voted for Tony Blair...

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