The Freedom Swindle | George Monbiot

The Freedom Swindle | George Monbiot

Interesting piece by Monbiot, illustrating that Nick Clegg's "Freedom" Bill only scratches the surface of the illiberal attacks on the freedom to protest legislated by the Thatcher, Major and Blair governments. Could it be that the Tory wing of the Coalition would rather leave these "omissions" intact?

Havering Labour Activists Doing A Woolas?

This evening, I stopped to pick up a Labour Party leaflet left by the communal door of my residence in Harold Hill.  The leaflet was titled News on the Hill from the Heaton & Gooshays Labour Party.

The first story HEALTH ALERT! asked 3 questions.

I have no problem with question 2 as it refers to the 41 hour closure of Queens Hospital, Romford, due to excessive demand during the Christmas break. 

Question 1 asks “Did you know that the TORY led COALITION GOVERNMENT want to shut the A&E Department at King George Hospital in Redbridge and send all their cases to Queens Hospital in Romford?”

Question 3 asks “Did you know that your LABOUR COUNCILLORS have been leading the battle to get the TORY Council in Havering to fight these cuts?”

(NB Words placed in UPPERCASE by ME for emphasis)

I’ll be honest with you.

1) I am an amateur liberal blogger, who probably does not blog on this page often enough to be taken seriously.

2) I am also a fully paid up member of Havering Liberal Democrats, so no one can call me a Tory apologist.  By the way I fully support Nick Clegg’s decision to go into coalition with the Westminster Tories.

3) I am blogging in personal capacity.  I don’t agree with ALL the decisions made by The Coalition Government, but that is the nature of coalitions: You don’t always get what you want.

 

I was intrigued by this story.  It seems to imply that

1) The decision to close the A&E at King George was made at cabinet level by The Coalition Government

2) The Havering Labour Party was the sole entity fighting against this proposed closure

I decided to test these assertions by the simple expedient of entering certain phrases from this leaflet into the Google search engine and seeing what came out.

The decision to close the A&E was made by the health Authority Health For North East London on 15th December 2010 http://www.guardian-series.co.uk/8741713.ILFORD_Closure_of_King_George_s A_E_and_Maternity_decided/

Redbridge Labour councillor, Andy Walker, who’s a member of Redbridge Health Scrutiny Committee referred this matter to Health Secretary Andrew Lansley earlier this year

In early February, a Labour motion to unite all political parties on Havering Council against these proposals was agreed http://www.london24.com/news/politics/new_allies_join_redbridge_hospital_fight_1_795604

A similar motion was agreed by Barking and Dagenham Council

As for government involvement, the decision taken by Health For North East London is probably a consequence of the coalition’s decision to increase health spending by less than the actual rate of health Inflation.  When Lansley reviews the Health Authority’s decision, he can either approve it or reject it.  The decision to close King George’s A&E would only be The Coalition’s fault if Lansley decides to approve it.

I respect Labour’s resolve to oppose, the Coalition’s cuts agenda at National and Local level, but this attempt by The Heaton & Gooshays Labour Party to portray a local decision as one made in Westminster is disingenuous to say the least.

Former Oldham East & Saddleworth MP, Phil Woolas was turfed out of Parliament for printing misleading leaflets about his Liberal opponent.  It seems that Labour has failed to learn the lessons of his fate

Richard Peppiatt's letter to Daily Star proprietor Richard Desmond | Media | guardian.co.uk

Richard Peppiatt's letter to Daily Star proprietor Richard Desmond | Media | guardian.co.uk

Another example of Newspaper owners using dog-whistle tactics to further their own agenda and make a quick buck. As usual the Daily Star trots out the usual guff about

1) Peppiat being a disgruntled freelance reporter with an axe to grind.

2) The editorial policy is not negative towards Islam.

3) The Daily Star does not Endorse The EDL

If you believe that a free press works best when journalists are allowed to report stories based on verified facts independently of the opinions of their peers, their bosses, or their employers target readership, I advise you to click on the above link and make up your own mind.