Obese patients and smokers banned from routine surgery in 'most severe ever' ration

[NickFitz]

Oh and I forgot - one trick Bliar did which others have followed with is leak "ideas" to see what the public reaction is to them. If the reaction is favourable then it becomes policy if the reaction is very negative it disappears for a long time....

Not just a New Labour thing - Thatcher's government was up to this constantly.

They'd start by having one of their known-to-be-barmy backbenchers tout some hideous idea in a speech somewhere outside the House - opening something in their constituency or some such, a non-event to which the Press would mysteriously flock. When it kicked up a stink, the government would be all "Well, that's Fred for you, not our policy at all, no, certainly not."

Some time later - maybe as long as a year - the same thing would happen with a slightly less swivel-eyed MP, this time during a debate in the House. Again, there'd be a fuss, and again, they had deniability.

A while after that, it would finally be raised as "something that needs to be looked at" by somebody of ministerial rank, probably in a reply to a question in the House from one of the loons; there'd be a bit of a fuss again, but less than before, because people have heard it before and the public are easily bored.

Then a general background rumbling of "important issue, something must be done" would carry on for a few months and, next thing you know, some hateful piece of legislation is on the books.

If you can be bothered to go back through the archives you can see this happening over and over again during the Eighties; I was certainly calling them out on it by 1987, and I hadn't been very politically aware during the early years of the decade, so it wasn't exactly hard to spot.

The culmination, and a classic example of the technique, came with the Poll Tax, which was originally touted something like four or five years before it was actually brought in, by Bufton Tufton types drivelling about non-existent widows in draughty mansions suffering from high domestic rate bills. At least that one ended up destroying Thatcher though

[AtW]

The culmination, and a classic example of the technique, came with the Poll Tax, which was originally touted something like four or five years before it was actually brought in, by Bufton Tufton types drivelling about non-existent widows in draughty mansions suffering from high domestic rate bills. At least that one ended up destroying Thatcher though

Poll tax to me sounds much fairer than current Council Tax.

[scooterscot]

Another attempt to privatise a service the public already pay for.

They want to cut costs? Sort out the overpriced supply-chain to the NHS.

[SueEllen]

Poll tax to me sounds much fairer than current Council Tax.

Well you are an idiot.

[SueEllen]

Another attempt to privatise a service the public already pay for.

They want to cut costs? Sort out the overpriced supply-chain to the NHS.

If they want to cut costs they just need to tell the public what they won't pay for and make it consistent in all areas.

One area refusing to give a 16 year old a tonsillectomy while another deliberately delaying referral to bowel cancer specialists makes people very angry.

[Churchill]

W@nkers will be excluded from free eye tests.

That's YOU stuffed then!!

Ftfy

[AtW]

Well you are an idiot.

Council tax totally unfair - based mostly on value of house even though services used clearly depend on number of people living in it - more garbage from 4 people than 1. Single occupancy discount is 25% (LOL!), and not even given at all if property is empty (where I live).

Poll tax as I read about it - "a head tax that saw every adult pay a fixed rate amount set by their local authority." is much fairer since it directly taxes adults, sounds much fairer to me.

[BrilloPad]

You have to have a BMI over 30 to suffer this

So thats most professional rugby playing forwards stuffed then.

[BrilloPad]

No treatment to anyone who suffers injury caused while they are drunk.

[shaunbhoy]

Council tax totally unfair - based mostly on value of house even though services used clearly depend on number of people living in it - more garbage from 4 people than 1. Single occupancy discount is 25% (LOL!), and not even given at all if property is empty (where I live).

Poll tax as I read about it - "a head tax that saw every adult pay a fixed rate amount set by their local authority." is much fairer since it directly taxes adults, sounds much fairer to me.