The Government’s plan to privatise the NHS surely has to be stopped.
Cameron resorted to attacking doctors and the British Medical Association at Prime Minister’s questions today. But if they are so awful why hand over power to them (especially when they don’t even want it!)?
The BMAs objections are:
1. There is no evidence that the reforms will work, and in fact some evidence it will actually cause problems and in particular lots of evidence about greater cost.
2. A competitive market doesn’t work when you can’t have ‘businesses failing’ (hospitals killing patients in health terms).
3. The scope of the ‘reforms’ is so huge it could be catastrophic for the health service and the lack of consultation puts at risk the success of the reform.
A costly, unpopular policy that the Conservatives promised not to implement (no more top down reorganisations remember!) shouldn’t be hard to ditch!
Sadly I know it becomes harder to abandon a position the more you’ve previously defended it. I learnt that lesson as half of the only comprehensive school team in a regional final coming away from a debate about regional assemblies convinced that a) we were robbed and b) that regional assemblies were the future of democracy. I was 17 and hadn’t given regional assemblies a minute’s thought before that evening, and realised that the next day. It was a good lesson to learn, you can have emotional attachment to even the least exciting of issues!
I watched Prime Minister’s Questions (my weekly TV treat, what a glamorous life I live!) and while I wouldn’t like to compare my 17 year old self to the Prime Minister I can see that the more people attack the policy the more he wants to defend it.
Still there’s a chance that he might turn so here’s that petition link again
D Cameron's connection to the reality that most people share was initially limited and is rapidly attenuating to the point of non-existence.
i.e. he is in a world of his own and a highly privileged one at that.
Sadly he is in a position of power to which he was not elected.