People/companies give money to party they think will further their interests shock.

I will take this criticism as serious and not party-political point scoring when an article appears noting that Labour takes money from the unions whose members have a vested interest in a lack of substantive reform.

Unless you want state-funded political parties, by all means publicise this, but don’t expect people to be bothered when they know both sides of the argument have their own funds from vested interests.

Another example of Stateside practice crossing the North Atlantic.

Look at all the blatant misinformation surrounding the health care reforms, and the amounts of money that the industry puts into lobbying. We’re in for more of that in the UK.

Here we go. Labour…The Unions…

Is this in some way meant to justify the attitudes, opinions and intentions exposed in the OP? Are you really so sanguine about health privatisation and its implications? Have you even watched the movie and read the links?

I have been saying this for weeks but the tory trolls deny this.

Funny how they are obsessed by trade unions, who represent British workers and have to account for every penny they give to politicians. Unlike the sleazy tories who hide their donations and then try to claim that the financial backers have no influence on policy. Which of course is a lie.

Trade unions represent millions of British workers, yet the tories take money from a handful of business men, many foreign. As usual the tories wipe their arse on the Union jack while claiming to be pro British.

1 “I will take this criticism as serious and not party-political point scoring when….” ZZZZZZZZZZzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

Nobody is interested in your pompous opinions troller.

The American private health care industry has been spending millions in Canada for some years trying to destroy their healthcare system. So no surprise they want to do the same here.

Just wish the tories and their troll mates would tell the truth instead of lying about why these reforms are being pushed.

Watchman

Allow me to direct your attention to Liberal Conspiracy’s ‘About Us’ section:

Liberal Conspiracy is a politics magazine and discussion site. It works in the form of a blog with multiple authors and several sections. Our aim is to re-invigorate the liberal-left in Britain through:

1. Having an intelligent conversation about liberal-left ideas and values
2. Campaigning for liberal-left policies and causes
3. Helping people get organised

So I hope you now understand why this story has been reported from a left-wing angle.

If that upsets you, I suggest you refrain from reading left-wing websites, and kindly take yourself to the Daily Mail.

6 Bravo, Bravo, bravo. But the troller is well aware of that. He just come on here to troll.

Which is why I never try to debate trolls. They are here to cause trouble.

Sally,

Look on the bright side – if the Tory trolls didn’t think left wing / progressive opinions on LC were revealing and destructive to their rotten interests – they would hardly bother to troll. It’s a welcome sign that they are rattled – (and, as it happens, rat led). They are desperately trying to keep the lid on coalition/ Tory lies – an increasingly impossible task even for the most hidebound troll.. Keep taking the fight to them Sally. Venceramos!

Talk about history repeating itself. Tories get in and cut, cut and cut bloody further to satisfy their base ideological cravings. Destroy public services and leave it to Labour to clear up the bloody mess (24 hours to save the NHS anyone?). And then have the nerve to accuse Labour of economic incompetency and of throwing money down the drain on hospitals, care for the elderly and education for the unworthy. When this ill thought out, back of a fag packet privatisation of health and schooling goes belly up the taxpayer will foot the bill. Socialism for the rich, what a truly despicable shower.

“Denationalisation”? I guess somebody figured that “privatisation” doesn’t poll well…

If you’re having to invent new words to describe your policies because the old ones are so unpopular, you just might have unpopular policies.

What do we all expect. I mean they are Tories after all.

Ellie Mae,

I’m fully aware of the mission of the site – but does partial reporting and not considering the easy counter-argument really help anyone? For a start, trying to make an issue out of about £130 000 a year (a small part of Conservative income) is not exactly going to get traction, especially if you calculate the income Labour has had from unions with NHS interests (yes, they do have opinions on the NHS also – so it is presumably equally likely they are buying influence with their money) – it is going to end up looking like the Conservatives are much less in debt to their sponsors on this issue than Labour (and strangely enough, the union connection is not a vote winner). It would not take a particularly skilled spin doctor to turn that story around – especially since the bulk of the donations (over £400 000) came from two private donors, one of whom is not actually even working for a healthcare company.

My basic point, perhaps badly put, is that this is not yet a line of attack worth following because no-one will be surprised, it will only upset the converted and it will open you up to a counter-attack. Sally may consider this trolling (rich from someone whose normal response to any post is to resort to stereotypes and name calling) but I am generally seeking to get people to think. As I’ve said before, surely it is better to try and deal with opposing points of view than to retreat into an echobox where you all agree without thinking about things differently.

And anyway, is anything in my original comment opposed to a liberal-left viewpoint. Since I support the right of unions to exist and strike (not that that is releant to my comment), you would have to assume that objecting to union funding of a party is not compatible with being liberal left. I’d like to see that argument deployed. You seem to assume that because I am right-wing that everything I say has to be right-wing (and therefore wrong…) as well.

Watchman: “I will take this criticism as serious and not party-political point scoring when an article appears noting that Labour takes money from the unions whose members have a vested interest in a lack of substantive reform.”

You’re comparing apples with oranges. Everyone knows Labour is funded by the unions. It’s completely open. It’s not secret. It’s called “the Labour movement”, and the idea is that its member organisations are democratically run by workers in various industries, and therefore they have at least some legitimacy in funding a political party.

I’d agree that political parties should be funded by the taxpayer: but it remains the case that commercial interests trying to buy policies is a whole different ball game to democratic membership organisations trying to buy policies. If private cash buys policies, then we have something approaching a plutocracy here, not a democracy.

“My basic point, perhaps badly put, is that this is not yet a line of attack worth following because no-one will be surprised, it will only upset the converted and it will open you up to a counter-attack.”

Yeah, you could make counter-attacks: Labour take corporate money too. I’d rather hope Labour supporters would respond by trying to sort out the Labour Party’s record on the issue, rather than fearfully keeping quiet while their party rewrites more and more policies to appeal to corporate donors instead of voters and members.

(I have a further reason for not caring about counter-attacks: I support the Greens, in part for this very reason.)

Troll getting all pompus “but does partial reporting and not considering the easy counter-argument really help anyone?”

So you write to the Daily Telegraph everyday to attack them for not havig balance do you?

Me thinks the troll does protest too much.

10 – “denationalisation” is the old word for “privatisation”. The few who advocated privatisation before the Thatcher era used the word.

I love this article. I am fully aware of the mission of this site. It is funny to think why they are obsessed by trade union, which represents the British workers who have the account to give to the politician. Tories take money from a handful businessman. Keep on posting such astonishing article.