Welcome to another story of slick organisation courtesy of David Cameron and co:
- You launch an NHS campaign.
- You promise to save Altrincham General Hospital’s A+E ward and maternity unit.
- Someone points out that, er…, the hospital doesn’t actually have either.
- You withdraw your promise and issue a new one, this time saying you are only going to save the maternity unit.
- Someone points out that, er…., it really doesn’t have a maternity unit for you to save.
- The information for the second (also wrong) promise is sourced in a document you send to the media as “Info from local MP”.
- You are David Cameron and the local MP who has been blamed for the information is … Graham Brady (the person who quit the Tory frontbench in the grammar school row).
Hat tip: Manchester Evening News
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12 Comments
Saw this in the paper this morning and this is another own goal by the Tories. I think it is a hatchet job on Graham ‘Grammer’ Brady!
Radio Five Live (a) had some other Tory MP apologising for this and (b) reeled off a list of towards ten other HAs and Trusts saying the Tories are scaremongering.
Unfortunately they did not have an interview with Cllr John Leech MP who hasn’t lost a hospital yet. Which if you’ll excuse me brings up a smile when LDV start pointing fingers.
Only pity is Labour in Man Wit didn’t bother with a rebuttal, though it was admittedly a more complex issue than whether or not there was an A&E or MU.
One has to ask oneself when watching the Tories: does this look like the party that will win the next election? The only answer is no.
The other Tory was Bellingham whose own constituencies hospitals had been muddled up by Andy Coulson, Dave-id Cameron, Grant Schweppes or whoever.
So Tories will campaign to save hospitals that aren’t threaterned but give up on campaignigning for hospitals like St Micheal’s in Aylsham which actually are going to close.
The Today programme had a significant update of this story: the Horton General Hospital in Banbury, which serves the northern part of Cameron’s own Witney constituency, is refuting claims that its A&E and maternity services are under threat.
More than that, Daniel (6). Andrew Lansley apparently told Five Live that the Tories never claimed that the A&E at the Horton was under threat. But, according to their original document, and I have a copy, they did!
Question: do the Tories look like the party that will win the next General Election? Answer: no.
They apparently left some hospitals off the list that are being considered for closure though (eg Bury)
Yes, there are quite a few genuine ones they missed off. Loads in Greater Manchester, for example, and Cheltenham.
Ohh it get’s better. Now they aren’t apologising.
As a result of this fiasco the Tories have apparently produced some new training guides which were leaked to me earlier today
http://tinyurl.com/24szhh
Very good, Hywel (11). I guess that they will print 1234 copies, foreward by Grant Shapps.