Today’s Guardian lays bare the opportunities for the Liberal Democrats at the local elections because of the failure of the Government to settle nurses’ and junior doctors’ pay claims.
Campaigners in the so-called blue wall seats – where affluent, liberal Tory voters have been drifting away from the party – have already reported their surprise at finding that the NHS has emerged as the main concern on the doorstep rather than more familiar issues in the seats, such as tax cuts.
“The NHS is the most salient issue on the doorstep for 2019 Tory voters, and now their failure to manage it will be on the front of newspapers day in, day out,” said a senior Lib Dem source. “My personal view is that the reason they keep going for immigration/asylum seekers is that they basically think anything is better than the story being the NHS.”
There is no sign that public support for the nurses and doctors is waning. It helps that that their union leaders, including the RCN’s Pat Cullen who has given a very good interview on Laura Kuenssberg, are calm, articulate and persuasive. It’s a far cry from the angry union firebrands of the 70s and 80s.
In contrast, Greg Hands just sounded hectoring and unlistening on the same programme.
Daisy Cooper, our Deputy Leader and Health spokesperson said:
The warning of rolling strikes between now and Christmas must act as a wake-up call.Conservative ministers need to urgently get round the negotiating table and find a solution instead of sitting on the sidelines. Patients should not have to pay the price for this Conservative government’s failure through yet more cancelled operations and delays to treatment.
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10 Comments
There seems to be a big class element to this. So it’s ok to be a trade union agitator holding the country to ransom etc as long as you’re middle class and “articulate” but not if you’re working class and bolshy. I think the medical unions are being unrealistic and the entire NHS needs reform.
“ There seems to be a big class element to this.”
Is it really class in the old sense or a new class division, namely, those who live in the real UK and those who see the world through the pseudo economic narrative the Conservatives believe in; which has directly resulted in the omnishambles the country is in.
At the last election the Tories promised that they would ensure 18,500 nurses expected to leave their post would remain or otherwise would be replaced by returning nurses. That means seeking good staffing levels to ensure stress levels are manageable and paying a good wage.
Filling posts, paying good wages and investing in infrastructure of NHS is going to cost a lot of money. Tories have significantly weakened our chances of investing to sufficient level in the NHS during their time in government through austerity, Brexit and Liz Truss haphazardly doffing her cap to the American right.
Affluent, liberal Tory voters probably need to start paying more tax whatever their priorities are. Labour are desperate not to deliver that honest message because they don’t want to annoy the Mail and Times but someone has to.
“Affluent, liberal Tory voters probably need to start paying more tax whatever their priorities are.”
Seconded – and blocking offshore tax dodges would be a starting point.
And given increased life expectancy is there any justification for not having to pay prescription charges on reaching age 60 (while continuing with the existing exemption rules)?
At a webinar with Macclesfield & East Cheshire European Movement (EM) members on Wed 12th Apr 23. Mike Galsworthy, Chairperson of the UK EM stated that the Lib Dems should concentrate on Shire Counties and rural constituecies where we could win back many parliamentary seats. Mike stated that the Labour Party had no chance whatsoever in these constituencies. The Lib Dems should focus on farming standards, the farming community and the mess that the Conservatives are making with regard to the new Sustainable Farming Incentives. The Conservative Party are seriously damaging the farming industry. Home grown food that is of good quality should be promoted. Food security should be promoted. Please contact Mike for more information if necessary. I asked Mike if he was prepared to write up his info but he stated that Layla Moran had been fully informed of the above when the Lib Dem leadership was being held.
The libdems should also be raising the profile of the current NHS Federated Data Platform procurement, given NHS England have failed the UK consortium bid, effectively leaving the bid by US spy-tech firm Palantir – who were awarded Covid contracts without competition. Hence this contract award potentially:.negatively hits UK business and workers, protections oF NHS patient data, negative contribution to balance of payments, facilitate US “health” businesses analyse and identify NHS opportunities…
@George Thomas “Affluent, liberal Tory voters probably need to start paying more tax whatever their priorities are. Labour are desperate not to deliver that honest message because they don’t want to annoy the Mail and Times but someone has to.”
Unfortunately, I don’t think that Labour is the only party “desperate not to deliver that honest message”! to that particular target demographic 🙁
“the entire NHS needs reform.”
The last 2 reforms didn’t work out to well. What makes you think another will be the panacea?
There’s a vacancy rate of around 10% in the NHS. So, assuming we believe in “free markets”, pay needs to go up by more than inflation. So the 5% offered is clearly at least 5% too low. If they aren’t going to increase pay, and they’re certainly doing their very best not to, then what the NHS does will need to reduce. Cut the coat according to the cloth, and if all you can get is a gilet it will have to do.
It’s always a good idea to look at the affordability of something like the NHS from an available resource perspective than a monetary one. We can create ££ at will and much faster than we create trained doctors and nurses. Yes I know this can be inflationary but so can paying out large sums of money for CEO and other ‘big wig’ salaries. We reduce and control inflation by imposing extra taxes if needed.
There are probably more trained nurses, for example, working outside the health service than in it, if we include those in the NHS who are in clerical roles. This is clearly not a good use of available resources. We can’t compel trained nurses to carry on working in this capacity indefinitely, if they don’t wish to, but we can at least pay them better and reduce the stresses they face at work to more acceptable levels by improving staffing numbers.
@ Jenny Barnes – just because the Lansley reforms etc were poorly thought out doesn’t mean other reforms wouldn’t work. If anything the problem is that reforms are too tentative because of a fear that the public won’t like them or they will be portrayed as “privatisation by stealth”. The time may have come to dust off David Laws proposals for a social insurance system.