Friday 17 June 2011

Every which way @ No 10

Do you know something? I felt rather sorry for Boy David today. Even Arturo felt rather sorry for him too. Why would that be, do I hear you ask? I'll tell you.

Earlier in the week, he was upbraided by the Leader of the Opposition in Commons PMQs, so much so that he didn't know where to turn for help. He's made to look as though he didn't know the answer to Ed Miliband's questions about benefits being paid to cancer patients.

Then, he sees Wailing Lad Clegg's face - not a pretty sight - this time the Lad's not wailing or even looking glum. Oh No! He's wearing an expression of sheer gloating smugness. You see, Wailing Lad Clegg has, for the first time, the appearance of being on the up and up! He's convinced himself and even a few of the LibDems that it was he and he alone who forced the re-think on the NHS. He conveniently forgot about the thousands who signed petitions; the hundreds of doctors who howled at the prospect of reform; the hundreds of nurses who complained. In his eyes, 'It was Clegg what won it!'

Our Boy David managed to bear all this - not with a happy smile, you understand, but with an air of resignation. Then - then came the blows today!

First Alan Milburn, a former Labour Health minister, described the compromise on the NHS reached between Conservatives and Lib Dems as, a 'train crash' that would cost billions. So, no comfort there!

Then - the CBI's deputy director general, Neil Bentley added his two pennyworth. He said :
In most areas, we are seeing public services cling on to existing ways of doing things, with vested interests fighting modernisation at every turn and campaigning against change.

Just this week, we have seen the forces of inertia in the NHS unions triumph on health reform. This is a missed opportunity for the government, and with profound consequences.

He didn't stop there! He said:
The coalition gives the impression of having lost its way, uneasy about reforms and unsure how to present them.

He reckons that the Coalition is running scared of the unions! He went on to reinforce this by saying:
We've heard business secretary Vince Cable say legislation will be considered if strikes happen. But by then it will be too late, and no barn-door-closure strategy will make amends for the horse having long since bolted. I say do it now, before the damage is done.

To crown it all, for our sagging PM, the unions are in fighting mode. June 30 will see teachers and other public sector workers out on strike.

No wonder there are few smile lines on Boy David's face. He'd better get used to it. Remember Tony Blair's mantra: 'Things can only get better'. Well, I suspect Boy David thinks to himself: 'Things will only get worse.'

Arturo and I agree! Of course, for us, it makes life all the more interesting here at No 10.

No comments:

Post a Comment