Tags
Coalition, health, Labour, NHS, open government, privatisation
(not satire – it’s UK today)
(UPDATE – Warner is now calling for a £10 a month ‘fee’ to use the NHS)
Well he’s got chutzpah, I’ll give him that.
Labour peer Lord Warner used the column space he was given by the Guardian today to explain the reasons why he’s supporting the coalition’s legislation to privatise reform the NHS.
Basically he says he’ll be voting with the government because he believes the reforms are good for the NHS and its users – and not at all because he’s personally being paid good money by private companies who are out to gain from the legislation.
If you can stomach the audacity and hypocrisy in it – you can see Lord Warner’s column here:
Why I, a Labour peer, am supporting a regulated market for NHS competition
It seems to me Lord Warner must obviously think we’re all thick or something.
Because according to Social Investigations, he’s currently a director of Sage Advice Ltd, works as an adviser to Xansa, a technology firm, and Byotrol, an antimicrobial company, which all sell or are hoping to sell services or products to the NHS.
And according to Lobbying Transparency, Warner also took up a position with Apax Partners – one of the leading private equity investors in healthcare.
When asked about his salaries from these private companies by parliament’s Public Administration Committee during an investigation into lobbying of peers by private companies, Lord Warner was evasive to say the least.
People who are supposed to be representing the public interest but who turn out to be only representing their own private interests – or their employers – really piss me off.
And the government’s privatisation by stealth of the NHS with no electoral mandate at all really, really pisses me off.
But people like Lord Warner thinking we plebs are so thick we’ll fall for their explanations that NHS privatisation is for our own good – and not because they’re going to be making shedloads of money from it – really, really, really piss me off.
How about you?
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Reblogged this on kickingthecat.
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Well this one takes the biscuit Tom! What the hell are we up against here? The Left are struggling to make the “privatisation” points and we find one of the law makers who is supposed to be on our side is treating us like uninformed children.I am horrified and will write personally to Lord Warner. He should be ashamed and exposed as the greedy blighter he really is.
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@tom as i posted earlier since the welfare cuts will result in claimants turning to the NHS eg becoming ill as result starving anxiety worry stress not spending littel money the have on proper nutricious food..plus them havinf to visit gp sugeries more to get forms written,, and then if they become more ill the hospital being unwilling to release them…then the lies over the so called listening exercise when in fact the were meeting up with private health reps to make sure competition was kept in the bill..no i have no respect for anyone who cares little for it and thinks so little the wiil dispose of it so casually…
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greed again thatchers legacy pure greed labours not labour its a tory party and if they don’t kick out the blairites well its finished and them who should now better get greedier he should be flung out but then they stick together jeff3
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they have no shame! the government (our democratic representatives). should have no interests in business at all..
this should be a condition of the job…a salary + reasonable expenses..then we would get those fit for the job….of morally representing human beings….and not the buck..
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A Somerset businessman made £56,000,000 from selling novelty golf ball finders and passing them off as “bomb detectors”.
They were sold to governments and international security agencies.
There really is, one born every minute.
What really, really, really REALLY hacks me off, is we are witnessing the break up, re packaging and re branding of the NHS, a world class public health system, in exchange for a bottle of snake oil, a packet of placebo pills and an Insurance backed guarantee or your money back in unum vouchers or nectar points!
AAAAAARRRRRRGGGGGGHHHHHH!
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This is scandalous – as a cop, I have to fully disclose any business interests I may have because I have to act with impartiality when I serve the public. Why should NP’s be any different – yes, all them business interest, but not those connected to or influenced by the party connections.
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to me it sounds like the beginning of a petition to mandate..
that all of our democratic representatives…
divorce and disassociate themselves from all business interests…forthwith…as they cannot be trusted to keep their hands out of the honey jar!
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Or just taken out and shot
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@TOM PRIDE..re three.co.uk blocking.
you wont believe this but my gmail account is blocked by three.co.uk
or at least access to it…
can you figure that out?
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….yes a petition to mandate….but what for? It seems to me that there is only any point to petition when there are people in Government with at least the pretence to listen. I have signed so many petitions in the last three years, I sent e mails to over 30 Lords and Baronesses re the amendment today. Most of those in Government have no integrity at all, and as they laugh at the rest of us , whilst stomping all over our rights and lives they are selling off not just the NHS but also our schools and the police force. By the time the next election comes they will have probably whipped up so much hatred for immigrants ( I believe Cameron went to India to order a great pre election influx, and they are no doubt organising Romanian gangs as I write) so that the public will have a new and visible scapegoat and they won’t have to get their police to man the polling stations just yet. Might as well accept that we are now run by a handful of ‘security’ companies like G4S , and some quasi military companies like SERCO who have bought the rights to bully and organise us whilst the ‘Government’ strips and sells off all the State assets I spent all my life contributing to. Of course those in Government ought not to have portfolios or other incomes whilst they are MPs……..it seems that even Local Councillors are more transparent and have to be, than these other ‘public servants’. But now that they have so much power that Osborne can decide which cases the Serious Fraud Office ( whats left of it that is) can investigate do you really think that they will say OK its a fair cop and just step down. I’m not sure what I do think about Labour Lords and Ladies anyway but those New Labour traitors I despise. I’m glad I’m old and nearly out of it , because yes, I feel so angry all i seem to do is rant nowadays…..I’ll shut up now!
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The worst thing possible is a government minister or politician from any side who uses his position to protect or promote their own private interests through policy. We have seen a few possible examples of that recently. Edward Garnier MP’s attempt at watering down the defamation bill was an obvious concern with his other job as a libel lawyer. If you put yourself up for public service you serve the public – not yourself.
Even if there is innocence in these conflicts of interests these should be addressed or MPs or minister’s who have additional interests should not be allowed to get involved in debating or voting on those issues. Better still, why don’t they just tell MPs they are not allowed other jobs. I suspect that would attract a far better quality MP in terms of being committed. Most MPs are a waste of space.
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Like you, i’ve signed upteen petitions especially concerning the NHS, and they are just ignored by the government. We are being ripped off by all governments who no longer represent us. Time for a change.
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Do turkeys vote for xmas? – mp’s/lords will not pass legislation to give up their lucrative business interests, which has been said they should not have in the first place as a representative of the people – pure greed.
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Politics are a stepping stone for the elite to line there pockets
Greed corruption and self interest is at the core of our political system
This has caused poverty low wages and the start of a break down in
Our society the system is broken and must change
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Reblogged this on The Greater Fool.
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I was amazed at how quickly the Guardian closed the comments on this. And there also a phenomenal amount of moderated comments as well. I wonder why that is…
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David Hanlon
Because they regulate themselves and will do so even when levenson implemented.
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the purpose of a petition is to clearly demonstrate…opinion….to…3 parties me you and them….
them do not have to listen…as they are the parties that are being ASKED to change their ways…
they could call it a stunt…but if enough sign a properly worded petition, then we would all know where we stand…and could also form further opinions from their actions or reactions to it.,
they obviously will resist the sweety jar being taken away..as most children do, but it is for their own good! ..
a petition does not have to be properly worded just for them but for all….petitions are democracy in action!
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“People who are supposed to be representing the public interest but who turn out to be only representing their own private interests – or their employers – make me really angry.
And the government’s privatisation by stealth of the NHS with no electoral mandate at all makes me really, really angry.
But people like Lord Warner thinking we plebs are so thick we’ll fall for their explanations that NHS privatisation is for our own good – and not because they’re going to be making shedloads of money from it – make me really, really, really angry.”
But this the crux of the whole matter isn’t it? These people who purport to be educated and cleverer than the rest of the population just because they had a privileged education (most of them at least), still actually believe that the majority of the British population are uneducated and stupid. They truly DO believe that we don’t understand anything that goes on, and as long as there is just even a small minority who blather along with these politicans or give them ground because their familes always voted Tory or whatever, they will continue to believe that the British public are a bunch of unwashed, stupid, uneducated country bumpkins.
You can see by the politicians’ reaction to many people’s protests against the things this government are doing that they think this. This is why they are trying sneak changes in and have decided that if they pretend we’re not here, then they can do as they wish. They don’t seem to have realised that people read and research things these days, the internet is a valuable tool for this. The US government have realised this and are trying to clamp down on it (CISPA) and how long before the UK government tries to do the same? Take away our voices, our free speech, our human rights and they take away any power we might have.
We need to fight for these things that many take for granted. We need to show these people that we DO know what they are doing and that we won’t stand for it.
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…he needs stringing up.
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Tom Pride: I am very concerned at the amount of anger you seem to have accumulated… You should seek to get on a course in ‘anger management’….These courses are not currently available on the NHS but there are plans afoot in the NHS Reform Bill 2013 that in a reformed (privatised) NHS, everyone with too much anger will get a place on an anger management course if they can prove they are genuinely very angry and if they pay shedloads of money to go private.. 🙂
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Aye petition away BUT there’s nobody listening ,there’s no reply…..Nothing changes and nothing will until we change THEM. By that I mean change the way they work for US. We need fully contracted ,fully sackable MPs who answer to US. All outside work should be illegal .One job one salary. Until then NOTHING will ever change…EVER….
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When I read the title of the article I thought “well, presumably because you’ll be making money out of it”. Seems I was right – might as well not bother reading it, it’ll just make me cross.
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I am almost crying with rage and frustration! Was medical secretary in NHS for 14 years and there were four ‘reforms’ during that time. If National Insurance had been ring fenced we would have a truly publicly funded service. Greedy capitalists have almost succeeded in getting their hands on lucrative health contracts, aided by an apathetic public, lying politicians and raucous right wing press.
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@anne selby and a percentage of ppl think that unemployed are criminals, and another percentage think that elvis is alive and living on the moon
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wow you are so censored on face F**K fair play to you, you tell it like it is…in solidarity!
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Just been reading that Lord Warner is the person who requested the Sec of State in 2005 to allow DoH to buy 50% stake in DFI: DFI are the company who supply the government with these figures (HSMRs). Fight to stay awake, fight! Yes it’s boring. Christ alone knows it’s boring. But it’s important.
Lord Warner, now promoting private health interests, started this whole bullshit StaffordKeoghJulieBaileyNHSinCrisis mudfight off, by making a private company started by two journalists and publishing a ‘Good Hospital Guide’ the sole source of any information about NHS in UK.
No competitive tender.
He did it. Warner. Him. J’accuse!
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“private company started by two journalists ” you have no idea how weird that sounds to me……right now as ive come across similar stuff..Tom stay tuned…
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Bloody hypocrite! How dare he? And how dare news agencies report what he says without mentioning this?
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If people, such as Lord Warner, are serious about making the NHS more efficient and fiscally viable there are 3 very easy steps to follow:
1) Tax Avoidance. I feel like I’m banging my head against a wall with this one. Why hasn’t the government done anything about this yet?! Close the loopholes, collect the significant amount of tax that currently goes uncollected and invest some of it into the NHS.
2) Tax. Considering a large cost to the NHS continues to be as a result of smoking, alcohol and obesity related ailments, it makes sense and is logical to increase tax on cigarettes, alcohol and foods high in fat and sugar. Even a minute increase in tax duty will allow the government to collect far more which can be reinvested into the NHS.
3) Private Healthcare. If people want to make lots of money and live a luxurious life, fine. But having money should buy you material things e.g. a nice house, a nice car etc. It should not buy you the basic human right of life (same goes for education). I don’t agree with private healthcare but if we are going to put up with it we should be working to the benefit of all. It is vastly under-taxed currently, so tax it to the hilt (particularly at the point of profit). Reinvest the returns into the NHS.
If the government adopts these three steps we will be well on our way to saving the single greatest piece of legislation enacted by any government ever: the NHS
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I agree.
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Now THAT’S a revolution at the stroke of a pen! I think you are right. Such a measure would profoundly change the face of politics. (Or, more likely, drive remuneration from other jobs way underground…)
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He’s not labour he worked for Blair’s lot, but he’s another of those who would have taken a lordship from the devil. He’s like many others are all out to make as much as they can as quick as they can, hence the house of lords should be elected then this gent can try and get elected for once..
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Well if you look at the lefties we have the people who voted against the welfare cap, labour would be a very small parties if the Blair ites did leave
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Someone bring the knitting needles and I’ll fetch the guillotine 🙂
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Tax and duty on cigarettes ( around 90% of the price is duty) and alcohol has been increased dramatically over the years supposedly to provide the NHS with the necessary funds, (or so we were told) smokers and drinkers are not the only nor most expensive group using the NHS.
Once you start highlighting groups of people to target then it becomes a free for all, every time extra cash is needed a new group is included, getting pregnant ? lifestyle choice, playing sports and getting injured ? lifestyle choice, driving a car and crashing ? lifestyle choice etc etc
As for Private healthcare, in the USA and Australia private healthcare costs as much as 30% of earnings and people without this “insurance” have little recourse to the same level of service and care, well documented cases in the US show people dying outside hospitals due to having wrong or insufficient insurance.
For years we have been told every time income tax, fuel duty, tobacco duty, alcohol duty, vat, and prescription charges are raised it is to “safeguard the NHS” and provide sufficient funds.
It is not funding nor number of patients causing the problems it is bureaucracy and the levels of management, management consultants, buying consultants, budget consultants, training consultants, use of agency staff at 3 times the pay of normal NHS staff etc etc and not forgetting the endless “top down restructuring” that takes place.
Every time restructuring takes place it those at the bottom being cleared out to be taken on by private contractors using those same workers but then making a profit and hence drawing money away from vital services. Every penny made in profits by private companies is money taken away from patient care and the NHS budget.
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It would be quite possible that we’d become a small party but at least we’d be a honest one. The bliarites led us to a illegal war, decided to keep first past the post, gave max devo to Scotland so it is likely that they’ll go for independence and leave us with a south dominated Tory gov’t for a very long time. But Bliarites are usually very wealthy, so maybe they don’t worry too much…
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