Thursday, March 12, 2015
Labour try to suppress good news on the English NHS
The behaviour of the Welsh Conservatives and Plaid Cymru towards Kirsty Williams' proposal for a cross-party commission on the Welsh NHS tells us all we need to know about self-interest, political opportunism and partisanship.
Treating the health service as a political football at the expense of patients is not though confined to Wales. According to the Spectator even more cynical shenanigans are afoot in Westminster.
They say that Labour MPs took the extraordinary step of blocking the publication of the Health Select Committee report into the NHS because the conclusions backed up government reforms:
'I have just been handed details of this report, and it’s clear why Labour wanted it suppressed: it contradicts the party’s attack message. Here are the main points:
Treating the health service as a political football at the expense of patients is not though confined to Wales. According to the Spectator even more cynical shenanigans are afoot in Westminster.
They say that Labour MPs took the extraordinary step of blocking the publication of the Health Select Committee report into the NHS because the conclusions backed up government reforms:
'I have just been handed details of this report, and it’s clear why Labour wanted it suppressed: it contradicts the party’s attack message. Here are the main points:
- No sweeping privatisations: there has been little increase in private sector providers since 2010.
- Nor has there been an extension of charges or top-ups during the current parliament, and that these are not planned.
- Less red tape: a general trend of declining administration costs in the NHS.
- No evidence that the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership poses a threat to the NHS.'
