I was told on Saturday that there was going to be an announcement of £20 billion for the NHS, and my first response was incredulity. “Where does that come from?”, was my question.
But sure enough, the announcement has come, and whilst the proposal for finding this sum is, how can I put it, less than entirely concrete still, it has complicated the arithmetic of opposition to Brexit. I’ll take an initial look at the numbers later.
It’s expected that the Lords could be sitting as late as midnight, as the European Union (Withdrawal) Bill returns for consideration of Commons amendments. Will the Lords send them back, or will they focus on only some of them? We’ll find out as the day goes on.
Our democracy has traditionally been monitored by the work of local reporters working for the regional and local press, but as regional media cut staff and local newspapers close, are we at risk of losing more than just transparency? I’ll be looking at some research from the United States that might act as a warning.
Other than that, we’ll try to react to any stories that break, or any articles that are submitted. So, let the week begin!
* Mark Valladares is the Monday Editor of Liberal Democrat Voice.
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4 Comments
NHS dentists are as rare as hens teeth. Today, I tried to find an accessible NHS dentist, that’s a dentist where access is no problem for those who have a disability. Rang 111, they told me one in Hanham, I live closer to Bath. It is more than 3 miles, unless arriving by air. I’ve had several broken teeth, not been well for several months. Not quite true, it has stairs. This is one highlighted issue, another is orthopaedic shoes and orthotics. Another, is the lack of hydrotherapy for bone and mobility issue’s. No one, expects free to be the only word used, but wheel chairs is another added cost. I do believe there should be a complete review of both the NHS and it’s use, how the funding is spent and how it’s used.
The Labour government in 1945 – 1951 promised that the NHS would be free as they implemented the policy proposals of the wartime coalition, funded partly by US aid and thanks to a British economist, John Maynard Keynes, a Liberal, who made it his life’s work to persuade the US Congress to pay for benefits they did not have themselves. He achieved and died, exhausted.
Prime Minister Clement Attlee decided that the UK must support the USA in the Korean War (for which there is, so far, no peace treaty) and the Health Secretary, Aneurin Bevan resigned.
Labour continues to claim credit for the NHS, despite prescription charges. In the late1960s in the then Ministry of Health complete suites of computer programs were written and implemented so as to be ready for a Labour government abolishing prescription charges as promised.
When Tony Blair mused on BBC TV on a Sunday morning that he might like to raise NHS spending to the EU average, Chancellor Gordon Brown, told him that he had taken the “entire budget”.
Richard Underhill 19th Jun ’18 – 10:28am……………The Labour government in 1945 – 1951 promised that the NHS would be free………..
‘Free, at the point of delivery’ doesn’t mean ‘free’. Everything has to be funded.
That’s just what I’ve been saying. It has to be paid for, that’s what most of us have been doing.
I was told today, how one elderly lady was taken several miles to a dentist.
We can’t have a free for all, I think that’s impossible. I’m willing to pay for some things but it has to be fair.
We need a solution to the constant battle of how hospitals cope. Should only those lucky enough to find an NHS dentist have one, as with treatment there is just not enough funding.
If there is to be free moment as you wish within the EU, logic states, housing and schools, hospitals have to cope. Should I be forced to pay for hydrotherapy and orthopaedic services to help me walk? It’s far from cheap. Dental treatment is another. Not everyone has good health.