38Degrees flood papers with NHS ads

by Sunny Hundal    
May 25, 2011 at 6:13 pm

Around 5 million people today saw newspaper adverts exposing Andrew Lansley’s sham “listening exercise” funded by the campaign group 38 Degrees.

A fundraising appeal was launched after a YouGov poll, paid for by 38 Degrees, found that 95% of the British public do not know how to get involved with Lansley’s NHS ‘listening exercise’.

It raised over £87,000 to launch ad campaigns opposing Andrew Lansley’s dangerous NHS plans.

The appeal has collected the largest number of donations for any other 38 Degrees campaign and breaks new ground in member-led advertising campaigns.

David Babbs, Executive Director, 38 Degrees said:

38 Degrees members are worried that Andrew Lansley’s listening exercise is all about spin. Events are invitation only and held in secret. Most of the public have no idea how to get involved. But the future of the NHS matters to all of us, we’ll all suffer if our health service is ruined. That’s why so many of us have clubbed together to pay for these adverts to sound the alarm.

They say they have collected nearly 400,000 signatures for their ‘Save the NHS‘ campaign.

Unions need to do more to support workers with disabilities

by Guest    
May 25, 2011 at 5:18 pm

contribution by Richard Shrubb

With the impending ‘outsourcing’ of the Equality and Human Rights Helpline, and the constriction of Legal Aid to all but the most vulnerable, your trades union is soon going to be the last hope you have of getting legal representation in court.

Failing that? ‘The man who represents himself in court has a fool for a lawyer’, so the saying goes. Through two cases I will show that mentally ill people represented by unions have a way to go before we are effectively supported when we face discrimination in the workplace.
continue reading… »

Can we learn from the Democrats’ success over Medicare?

by Guest    
May 25, 2011 at 12:28 pm

contribution by Tim Fenton

Elections are won and lost, generally, not on matters outside the country concerned, but on domestic issues: not for nothing did Bill Clinton’s 1992 campaign use the strapline “It’s the economy, Stupid”.

And that is still the case in the USA: while those of a right leaning persuasion were lauding the address to Congress of Israeli PM Binyamin Netenyahu, and writing down Barack Obama’s stature, the important game was being played out in New York’s 26th Congressional District.
continue reading… »

Isn’t it time for a referendum on Europe?

by Guest    
May 25, 2011 at 8:50 am

contribution by Mark Seddon

The mere mention of the words ‘Europe’ or ‘European Union’ is almost bound to make eyes glaze over. The last time that people were actually asked to register an opinion as to whether Britain was better off in or out of this political, social and economic union was back in 1975.

They would like us all to believe that any new referendum that gave this generation a chance to pass judgement on the European project would be an exercise in vulgar, dangerous populism.
continue reading… »

Anti-abortion group to advise on sexual health

by Newswire    
May 25, 2011 at 8:36 am

A group which is opposed to abortion in all circumstances and favours an abstinence-based approach to sex education has been appointed to advise the government on sexual health.

The Life organisation has been invited to join a new sexual health forum set up to replace the Independent Advisory Group on Sexual Health and HIV.

Stuart Cowie, Life’s head of education, said: “We are delighted to be invited into the group, representing views that have not always been around on similar tables in the past.”

In contrast, the British Pregnancy Advisory Service (BPAS) has been omitted from the forum despite its long-term position on the previous advisory group and 40-year track record in providing pregnancy counselling nationwide.

…more at The Guardian

Home Office deporting severely disabled 5yr old

by Newswire    
May 24, 2011 at 5:16 pm

A SEVERELY disabled fiveyear- old girl is facing death if she is deported to Algeria, her family claim.

Rania Abdechakour came to Britain to live with her aunt and uncle on a six-month visa in 2008 as a toddler, to give her mother a break and help her condition.

As it emerged just how ill she was, her stay was extended so she could seek more medical help.

Now the youngster is making huge improvement and is even a pupil at a mainstream school.

But the Home Office says she must return home after an application for leave to remain in the country was turned down — even though she is unlikely to receive the special treatment and medication she needs in Algeria.

…more at The Bolton News (via SameDifference)

Vince drops the bomb: ‘Greece should default’

by Sunny Hundal    
May 24, 2011 at 3:37 pm

Wow. I’ve been calling for Greece (and Ireland) to default for quite a while, but I didn’t expect Vince Cable to agree with me.

He tells the Guardian:

What [the Greeks] are going to have to do is to have a rescheduling of their debt and it can be done in a soft way or a hard way, and that’s what the current debate is about. You can’t just deal with this by cutting, cutting, cutting – it’s wrong, and it does not work. Attacking the debt, and dealing with it in a more pragmatic way, is the way out of this.

I think in practice what will happen – people are already discussing this – is a negotiated rescheduling. It isn’t an easy way out. I was quite involved in the Latin American debt crisis in the 80s, writing about it, and what happened there was that the countries did reschedule their debts – and it was the best option, or the least worst option.

You lose quite a lot in terms of your capacity to borrow in markets, so it’s not an easy option – but given that all the other options are terrible, I’m sure that’s what will happen.

I have a feeling this is going to affect the markets.

Although, to his credit, Cable is only saying what is expected anyway.

Today’s borrowing figures show why Osborne’s plan isn’t working

by Sunny Hundal    
May 24, 2011 at 3:30 pm

New figures out today show that government borrowing for the last month was the highest April figure ever recorded: £7.7bn compared to £5.3bn April last year.

So, a year after a new Conservative government promised to cut the deficit, it is still not managing that task.

What’s gone wrong? Exactly what we have been predicting: Osborne has been forced to borrow so much because tax receipts are faltering.
continue reading… »

Boris tries to cover up lies against #UKuncut

by Sunny Hundal    
May 24, 2011 at 1:36 pm

Last week, London Assembly Member Navin Shah asked this question of London Mayor Boris Johnson:

I have been contacted by a constituent who was confused about your response on Question Time on 1st April.

You said that the Fortnum and Mason protesters (part of UKUncut) did £15,000 worth of damage whilst occupying the shop. However, a spokesperson for Fortnum & Mason confirmed at the time that the damage was minimal. How can your claim of £15,000 be substantiated?

Did Mayor Boris Johnson admit he got it wrong? Did he apologise for libelling an organisation without merit?

Of course not.

This was the written response from Boris yesterday:

The point that I was making was that the occupation of Fortnum and Mason was pure vandalism and that UK Uncut is an organisation that is supported by the Labour Party’s candidate for Mayor of London as well as a number of Labour MPs.

UK Uncut’s press release about this action stated that Fortnum and Mason was occupied because it is “a symbol of wealth and greed. It is where the Royal Family and super-rich do their weekly shop.” The fact that Fortnum and Mason is owned by a charitable foundation, provides many jobs and pays its taxes was clearly lost on these “activists”.

Once again a dishonest Boris Johnson completely avoids the question.

Poll: Cameron’s Big Society falls flat again

by Newswire    
May 24, 2011 at 12:45 pm

Polling out by Yougov today shows that David Cameron’s attempts to flog the Bog Society horse are as doomed as the last attempt.

The analysis by Peter Kellner of YouGov states:

However, the evidence is clear: most people are baffled by the term ‘Big Society’; and, when it is explained to them, they have little confidence that it will work.

YouGov repeated a series of questions asked three months ago.

1. The Government has said that a key plank of its policy is to encourage a ‘Big Society’. How well, if at all, would you say you understand what the Government’s ‘Big Society’ plan is?

29% said they understand it very or fairly well,
62% said not very, or not at all, well.
This is only a slight improvement from mid-February, when 24% said well and 72% not well.

2. David Cameron has said the Big Society is about giving more power to local communities and people, by taking more power away from government and allowing voluntary groups and communities to run public services. Examples include giving more powers to local government, encouraging people to take an active role in their communities and supporting charities and volunteer groups. In principle, do you think the Big Society sounds like a good or bad idea?

45% said the Big Society is a good idea and 34% saying it’s a bad idea. 22% had no view either way.
In February, 49% said it was a good idea and 31% a bad idea.

3. In practice, do you think the government’s policies to create a Big Society will actually work?

Only 9% think it will work, while a large majority, 73% say it won’t work. Even Conservative voters reckon by three-to-one that the Big Society won’t work.
The numbers were the same in February.

4. Which of the following statements best reflects your view?

The Big Society is a real vision of how the government can cut the cost of delivering services and get more people involved in their local communities

The Big Society is mostly just hot air, and is being used as a cover for the Government while they cut investment in public services

The results this time are virtually the same as three months ago: ‘real vision’: 19%, ‘mostly hot air’, 59%.

Strikingly, only 42% of Conservative voters said it was a ‘real vision’ and 26% said it was ‘mostly hot air’.

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