So yesterday Nick Clegg decided that he is against Tory plans to 'revamp' the NHS. I am sure I am not the only blogger remarking this morning about this volte face on the part of the Lib Dem leader.
[A bit of recent Lib Dem history: in March Nick Clegg had to accept the motion put down by his MPs at his party’s spring conference condemning Andrew Lansley, the Conservative Health Secretary, proposed reforms.] Those who were said to be angry over their leaders 'agreement' with the proposed reforms included Baroness Shirley Williams.
We could not have been the only household watching Cleggy on the TV yesterday chanting 'Why now Nick?' Could it have been to do with the drubbing at the polls on Thursday in the local elections? Has he realised, with other high ranking Lib Dems like Vince Cable and Simon Hughes, that now the electorate really see their party as just a paler blue version of the Conservative party?
I do not like the NHS being used as a 'political tool' to make a politician gain votes. To me a National Health Service has been and should continue to be a human right for British citizens for the past 60+ years thanks to Aneurin Bevan and his colleagues. We cannot as a nation afford [morally and financially] to lose it. As a family historian I often read the death certificates of ancestors, mostly poor working people, and wonder if the NHS had been available 150 years ago they would have survived the illnesses which killed them.
As an individual I thank the NHS for their care in just this past six weeks, let alone my whole life! Youngest Daughter as you may know, has just given birth to a lovely grand-daughter. However both needed a lot of care from the NHS, Youngest Daughter had pre-eclampsia which got worse after delivery and thanks to the care of her hospital she is still with us to tell the tale [but still receiving treatment] - again this is one of those conditions that 150 years ago would probably be shown on a death certificate. At the same time youngest grand-daughter had to go into special care for a couple of days but is thankfully now at home with her Mum and Dad and keeping them awake at night!
Whilst this was happening in one county we had two very elderly relatives, to whom we are next of kin, in hospital in another county. The wonderful NHS saved the life of one and now he is home are now sending a district nurse in every day to him and carers to both him and his wife. And in another county my elderly aunt was in yet another hospital as she had to have treatment for another problem.
Thank you so much NHS and all the wonderful workers.
Reading Nick Clegg's biography, courtesy of Wikipedia so usual wikipedia cautions apply, the most interesting fact to me is that his great great aunt was Moura Budberg, a long time mistress of my literary hero and left wing campaigner of the early 1900s, H.G.Wells.
[A bit of recent Lib Dem history: in March Nick Clegg had to accept the motion put down by his MPs at his party’s spring conference condemning Andrew Lansley, the Conservative Health Secretary, proposed reforms.] Those who were said to be angry over their leaders 'agreement' with the proposed reforms included Baroness Shirley Williams.
We could not have been the only household watching Cleggy on the TV yesterday chanting 'Why now Nick?' Could it have been to do with the drubbing at the polls on Thursday in the local elections? Has he realised, with other high ranking Lib Dems like Vince Cable and Simon Hughes, that now the electorate really see their party as just a paler blue version of the Conservative party?
I do not like the NHS being used as a 'political tool' to make a politician gain votes. To me a National Health Service has been and should continue to be a human right for British citizens for the past 60+ years thanks to Aneurin Bevan and his colleagues. We cannot as a nation afford [morally and financially] to lose it. As a family historian I often read the death certificates of ancestors, mostly poor working people, and wonder if the NHS had been available 150 years ago they would have survived the illnesses which killed them.
As an individual I thank the NHS for their care in just this past six weeks, let alone my whole life! Youngest Daughter as you may know, has just given birth to a lovely grand-daughter. However both needed a lot of care from the NHS, Youngest Daughter had pre-eclampsia which got worse after delivery and thanks to the care of her hospital she is still with us to tell the tale [but still receiving treatment] - again this is one of those conditions that 150 years ago would probably be shown on a death certificate. At the same time youngest grand-daughter had to go into special care for a couple of days but is thankfully now at home with her Mum and Dad and keeping them awake at night!
Whilst this was happening in one county we had two very elderly relatives, to whom we are next of kin, in hospital in another county. The wonderful NHS saved the life of one and now he is home are now sending a district nurse in every day to him and carers to both him and his wife. And in another county my elderly aunt was in yet another hospital as she had to have treatment for another problem.
Thank you so much NHS and all the wonderful workers.
Reading Nick Clegg's biography, courtesy of Wikipedia so usual wikipedia cautions apply, the most interesting fact to me is that his great great aunt was Moura Budberg, a long time mistress of my literary hero and left wing campaigner of the early 1900s, H.G.Wells.
The picture of Nick Clegg above is again courtesy of Wikipedia. The reason I have chosen is because it is rather a badly posed picture from his point of view as the camera angle makes him look much smaller [and thus less important/inferior?] to David Cameron......
Please join with me and hundreds and thousands of others in signing the petition to #savethenhs
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