Labour

New report on rebuilding NHS ‘lays bare the truth’ about privatisation, Labour MP says

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A general view of staff on a NHS hospital ward

INCREASED NHS funding during the last Labour government masks how privatisation reduced its efficiency, says a groundbreaking new expert report which was launched in Parliament this week.

The Rational Policy-maker’s Guide to Rebuilding the NHS was produced by academics and NHS professionals at the 99% Organisation and Keep Our NHS Public (KONP).

Cross-party MPs, policy-makers attended the event sponsored by Labour MP Richard Burgon.

Today he said: “This report lays bare the truth that underfunding and creeping privatisation have left our NHS in crisis. But there is a way forward.

“Proper public investment and a commitment to keeping the NHS free at the point of use can rebuild our health service and improve patient outcomes.

“The government must take note: this is not just about economics, it’s about saving lives.”

The report warned that ministers “must skilfully avoid the pitfalls of the past” Labour government, including failing to tackle social care.

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Founder of the 99% Organisation Mark E Thomas said: “There is no dispute that the NHS is struggling badly, but there is certainly dispute about how to fix it.

“This report demonstrates that calls for further privatisation or an insurance-based system would be catastrophic for both public health and the economy.

“The only viable solution is proper funding, preventive healthcare investment, and tackling the root causes of ill health, including poverty.”

KONP co-chair Dr John Puntis said: “Decades of market-driven policies have eroded our NHS.

“This report makes it clear that the way forward is not more outsourcing or corporate involvement, but a properly funded, publicly run health service that puts patients before profit.

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https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/new-report-rebuilding-nhs-lays-bare-truth-about-privatisation-labour-mp-says

Continue ReadingNew report on rebuilding NHS ‘lays bare the truth’ about privatisation, Labour MP says

Labour ‘bans MPs from criticising government’ after Waspi embarrassment

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Labour’s refusal to honour an ombudsman recommendation to compensate Waspi women has been deeply unpopular

LABOUR MPs have been banned from publicly criticising government policies in a new clampdown by the beleaguered Starmer regime, it was revealed today.

It is understood that Labour whips have written a threatening letter to the 10 Labour MPs who voted against the government’s refusal to compensate the Waspi women over pension maladministration, as recommended by an ombudsman.

In an unprecedented injunction, the letter includes the warning that “you are not entitled to criticise the government in public.”

The move forms part of an increasing authoritarianism by Labour’s leadership as the government’s popularity plummets in the polls.

Three left MPs have had their six-month suspension for an earlier rebellion over the two-child benefit cap extended for an open-ended period, indicating that they are unlikely ever to be readmitted to the parliamentary party.

Government business managers had only imposed a one-line whip, the lightest form of parliamentary discipline, on the Waspi vote, since it was on a purely symbolic motion tabled by the Scottish National Party.

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Continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/labour-bans-mps-criticising-government-after-waspi-embarassment

Continue ReadingLabour ‘bans MPs from criticising government’ after Waspi embarrassment

Activists occupy consultancy firm over renewal of Drax subsidies

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Emissions from the Drax plant near Selby on a winter’s day

ACIVISTS occupied the London offices of a lobbyist for Drax power plant today, protesting against the government’s decision to bankroll Britain’s top carbon emitter.

Labour announced yesterday that it will provide subsidies to the wood-burning power plant for at least four more years.

The plant has received billions from taxpayers because it is classed as a source of renewable energy, a claim long disputed by campaigners as it emits the largest amount of carbon in Britain.

Drax has also been fined £25 million by Ofgem for misreporting where its wood is sourced from after a BBC investigation found that it had used wood from environmentally important forests in Canada.

This morning, 20 activists from Axe Drax occupied the offices of 5654 & Company, a corporate affairs consultancy they say lobbies for the power station, with staff forced to leave for the day as a result, according to the campaign group.

Rosie, who only shared her first name, from Axe Drax said: “The decision to back Drax is a disaster for the climate and our energy bills.

“Funding the biggest carbon emitter in the UK in the name of green energy is insane.

“It is time for Labour to dump Drax and their lobbyists, not double down support.

“We are sick of their unaccountable power, while millions of us have our bills hiked.”

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Article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/activists-occupy-consultancy-firm-over-renewal-drax-subsidies

Continue ReadingActivists occupy consultancy firm over renewal of Drax subsidies

Labour continues the Tory war on the poor, sick and disabled

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DWP chief Liz Kendall

DR DYLAN MURPHY challenges the idea that social security places an economic burden on the public

THE current Labour government of red Tories has doubled down recently on its propaganda against those people claiming benefits in the UK.

These reactionary comments range from Starmer’s pledge in the Sun to be ruthless in his cuts to benefits, to Reeves making inflated claims in the same paper that spending on benefits has “spiralled out of control.”

In the same interview with the Sun Reeves bragged that Labour is “introducing the biggest welfare fraud and error package in recent history.”

The implication is clear: those claiming benefits, including those workers on low wages claiming elements of universal credit, are an undeserving burden on the British economy.

In the “golden days” of the Victorian era they at least maintained a distinction between the deserving and undeserving poor. Under Starmer’s Labour all people who claim benefits are clearly in the undeserving poor category and should be made to suffer ever greater poverty all to help “turbo charge” economic growth.

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Article continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/labour-continues-tory-war-poor-sick-and-disabled

Keir Starmer confirms that he's proud to be a red Tory continuing austerity and targeting poor and disabled scum.
Keir Starmer confirms that he’s proud to be a red Tory continuing austerity and targeting poor and disabled scum.
Continue ReadingLabour continues the Tory war on the poor, sick and disabled

Following Reform UK’s politics can only lead Labour to disaster

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MILLSTONE: Parts of the Labour Party see Nigel Farage’s Reform as worthy of emulation

You only have to look at the dire polling of Labour’s sister parties in Europe to see that aping the hard right on migration leads to spectacularly bad results, argues DIANE ABBOTT MP

LABOUR is facing calls, both internally and from its enemies, that it should become even more anti-migrant in its policies and rhetoric in order to stave off the growing threat of Reform UK. This is a morally and politically bankrupt approach that will lead Labour to disaster.

If anyone doubts that, just take a look at some of the traditional left parties in Europe who have trodden that path, they have largely been reduced to a rabble.

The BBC reports that a group of “around 40 MPs” calling themselves the Red Wall group are calling in the government for a stronger message on immigration to stave off the electoral threat posed by Reform UK.

At the same time, there has been the proposed revival of the odious Blue Labour group with effectively the same aim. It has received a shot in the arm with the invitation of its ideological leader Maurice Glasman to Donald Trump’s inauguration. This is a direct foreign intervention in British politics and specifically into Labour politics as the Maga reactionaries try to reshape Western politics in their own image.

Labour has also decided to boost Reform UK’s advertising, by issuing ads which mimic their content and style on deportations.

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Continues at https://morningstaronline.co.uk/article/following-reform-uks-politics-can-only-lead-labour-disaster

Continue ReadingFollowing Reform UK’s politics can only lead Labour to disaster