Is the NHS really failing the elderly, as the ombudsman says?

by Guest    
February 18, 2011 at 4:01 pm

contribution by Dr AlienfromZog

“The NHS is failing to treat elderly patients in England with care, dignity and respect,” said the health service ombudsman this week.

The report also claims that these are not isolated incidents and are in fact illustrative of the poor quality of basic care in the NHS. But there are simple reasons why these claims are unrepresentative.
continue reading… »

Two reasons why Libdems might not benefit from AV

by Rupert Read    
February 18, 2011 at 12:42 pm

For everyone, from the BBC and Peter Kellner to Nick Clegg himself, there are assumptions that LibDems will benefit from the referendum in May.

And after all, haven’t the LibDems in the past suffered a good deal from the ‘wasted vote’ argument, which AV would put an end to?

But there are two good reasons why this might not happen.
continue reading… »

Labour gears up to support AV for 5th May

by Newswire    
February 18, 2011 at 11:16 am

The Labour Yes campaign has welcomed today’s announcement that Royal Assent has been granted to the Parliamentary Voting and Constituencies Bill.

“Now that the Bill is an act of Parliament, we are excited to be able to formally commence campaigning for a Yes vote on the 5 May,” Ben Bradshaw, MP for Exeter and the Labour Yes campaign spokesperson said today.

“On the 5th of May, we will have an historic opportunity to change politics in Britain for the better, and to vote for a fairer, more democratic system to elect our representatives to Parliament.”

Labour supporters of AV include Labour leader Ed Miliband, former leader Neil Kinnock, Alan Johnson, Alistair Darling, John Denham, Sadiq Khan Tessa Jowell, Diane Abbott, Tony Benn, Glenys Kinnock, Ken Livingstone and Oona King.

In an article for the Guardian yesterday, Ed Miliband wrote:

AV offers an opportunity for political reform, ensuring the voice of the public is heard louder than it has been in the past. And given the standing of politics that is an opportunity we should take. It is a system that combines the direct representation of first-past-the-post with one that will make the votes of more people count.

The Labour Yes campaign believes that all MPs should have the support of the majority of voters. Under the current system of First Past the Post ( FPTP), only a third of MPs elected to Westminster can say they were elected with over 50% support from the voters in their constituency

However, under AV, a candidate will have to work to gain the support of the majority vote in order to get elected, and MPs will have to reach out to the entire of their consistency rather than having to just their core vote out in order to get elected.

Under AV, voters will have a bigger say in who their local MP is, which will lead to an increased constituency link between MP and voter.

From a press release

Why Cameron’s funding for the NHS will be worse than Thatcher’s

by Guest    
February 18, 2011 at 9:42 am

contribution by Richard blogger

The Conservative party went into the 2010 election with the slogan “I’ll cut the deficit, not the NHS”.

Labour knew that it was not possible to do the former without doing the latter, and because they didn’t give a straight answer about how they would change NHS funding, they lost their traditional NHS electoral advantage.

But how do the spending committments, only now coming to light, match up?
continue reading… »

Osborne gives banks another handout and scuppers any chance of reform

by Duncan Weldon    
February 17, 2011 at 3:34 pm

According to a front page FT story this morning George Osborne is looking to relax the rules on UK banks’ liquidity, in effect allowing them to hold less gilts and cash.

This is big news, George Osborne is relaxing rules on the UK banking sector, rules designed to prevent a future crisis by forcing the banks to hold more liquid assets – assets that can be easily sold in a crisis to raise cash.
continue reading… »

Why human rights for prisoners and even paedos matter

by Robert Sharp    
February 17, 2011 at 1:00 pm

First they came for the prisoners.

A few weeks ago, MPs voted to ignore the European Court of Human Rights to keep a full ban on prisoners. Our Prime Minister put blatant populism above politics, declaring that “giving prisoners the vote makes me sick” (even if that means paying £143 million in compensation from the barren public purse).

Then they came for the paedophiles.
continue reading… »

Littlejohn slams non-existent ‘hop-scotch lessons to Asian women’

by Sunny Hundal    
February 17, 2011 at 11:40 am

Richard Littlejohn’s column in the Daily Mail yesterday started off with: “For the past 20-odd years, this column has made a decent living documenting the insanity and waste in Britain’s Town Halls.”

He’s actually making a good living out of peddling rumours and stories that have no basis in reality.

In a column attacking the typical ‘political correctness gone mad’ tripe, we come across this gem:

One South London council appointed a full-time adviser to deal with the very special needs of gay alcoholics. Haringey hired someone to give hopscotch lessons to Asian women.

I haven’t bothered fact-checking the first claim, but the second is truly hilarious.

This particular urban myth was actually floated years ago, by the former Conservative Party chairman, Sir Brian Mawhinney.

In a conference speech in 1995, he mocked Labour’s political correctness by deriding a decision by the Labour-controlled Camden council to fund the Hopscotch Asian Women’s Group.

But actually…

Hopscotch AWC offers support services for Asian women and their families on a wide range of issues including domestic violence, benefits, housing, education, immigration and health matters. We provide advocacy and support to people with learning disabilities.

Sir Mawhinney was mocked then for making the mistake. But it seems 15 years later, Richard Littlejohn is still recycling the same urban myths.

Over at Primly Stable blog, where this story was uncovered, there’s also several instances listed where Littlejohn simply recycles his own material.

The 28 March 2010 column was actually an extended extract from his latest book.

So he wrote it for the book, copied and pasted it for the promotional column and then copied and pasted that 11 months later.

You couldn’t make it up.

There’s also a brilliant comment there by Howard Knight, who recounts how the ‘Asian Hopscotch’ story hurt Mawhinney’s career.

With Mawhinney still on his feet, I phoned the information and rebuttal through to Adrian McMenemy – then a young Labour Party Press Officer who was at the Conference. He provided a comprehensive and withering brief to all the journalists at the Conference.

Mawhinney left the stage, basking in the applause of his adoring audience, only to be met by journalists demanding why he’d been attacking Conservative government-funded schemes and the Royal Family.

From then, it all went pear-shaped for him

If only someone could do that to Richard Littlejohn’s career.

How China is tearing up the rules on globalisation and wages

by Guest    
February 17, 2011 at 11:20 am

contribution by Owen Tudor

Yesterday’s FT contained a fascinating article reporting that China’s wage rates have increased in real terms by over 10% a year in the last decade (ie they have more than doubled since 2000), but that productivity has risen commensurately.

There are huge lessons here for trade unions addressing what has been one of the most persistent agenda items for the International TUC: the impact of China on everyone else’s living standards.
continue reading… »

‘SuperGlue 3′ activists let off lightly in court

by Newswire    
February 17, 2011 at 10:02 am

A court has imposed no penalty on three environmental activists who were arrested during the Climate Camp protests last year.

Last August, the three super-glued themselves to a branch of RBS in Edinburgh, in order to talk to customers about the bank’s role in financing climate change.

They were admonished in the Edinburgh Sherriff Court yesterday.

They were convicted of Breach of the Peace, a wide-ranging charge, often used to arrest campaigners.

However no fine or sentence was imposed.

Court drawing credit: Sylvie Winn

Commenting on a video of the action, fellow activist Peter Tatchell said earlier

I commend the Superglue 3 for taking a stand against RBS’s environmental and social destruction. They followed their conscience, motivated by a desire to defend the interests of humanity and safeguard our precious, fragile planet. Unlike the reckless policies of RBS, their non-violent civil disobedience caused no harm to anyone.

The group has received many messages of support from people concerned about climate change, cuts and civil liberties across the world, including theEdinburgh Councillor for the area.

For more information, visit www.superglue3.org

Despite his politics, Aaron Porter does not deserve the harassment

by Ellie Mae    
February 17, 2011 at 9:20 am

Let’s remind ourselves of the catalogue of disappointments commonly known as Aaron Porter’s career as NUS president.

He failed to support union members facing legal action, he opposed most demonstrations his members wanted to hold, and yesterday it transpired that he allegedly praised the changes to higher education tuition fees as ‘progressive.’

So far, so contemptible. It’s little wonder a motion of no-confidence was raised against the NUS’s El Presidente, and quite right too.
continue reading… »

RECENT OPINION ARTICLES

Diane Abbott resigns from abortion panel 19 Comments Watch: Chicken chases Boris Johnson 33 Comments Does Priti Patel MP care for human rights? 59 Comments Watch: funny spoof explains benefits cuts 18 Comments UKuncut to join disabled to oppose Welfare bill 15 Comments Lawson’s GWPF faces questions over funding 25 Comments Shock poll shows public indifferent to Labour’s new cuts line 38 Comments Watch: NHS report “vindicates Labour” 7 Comments Daily Mail writer: Hurrah for French fascists! 64 Comments Save our pensions! Unite slams Unilever in video 11 Comments

LATEST COMMENTS » Sunny Hundal posted on Revealed: govt to restrict abortion counselling despite Nadine Dorries vote » Sally posted on Even by economic standards Hester's £1m bonus is unworthy » Flowerpower posted on Diane Abbott resigns from abortion panel » Tom (iow) posted on The benefits of being a "burden" on society » Anne posted on Revealed: govt to restrict abortion counselling despite Nadine Dorries vote » Ian M Davies posted on Week of action against Atos begins Monday » Robert2012 posted on The benefits of being a "burden" on society » G.O. posted on Would raising the tax threshold actually help the poorest? » Dave posted on Revealed: govt to restrict abortion counselling despite Nadine Dorries vote » Schmidt posted on Even by economic standards Hester's £1m bonus is unworthy » Link: “govt to restrict abortion counselling despite Nadine Dorries vote” | Help Me Investigate Health posted on Revealed: govt to restrict abortion counselling despite Nadine Dorries vote » Planeshift posted on Would raising the tax threshold actually help the poorest? » Makhno posted on The benefits of being a "burden" on society » Trooper Thompson posted on Would raising the tax threshold actually help the poorest? » ukliberty posted on Does Priti Patel MP care for human rights?