National politics

[Bosun]

Do you think some Tories or people from other parties are joining the Labour party in order to vote in somebody bound to lose?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-33868771

[DaveR]

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/jeremy-corbyn-llandudno-labour-party--9830578

“I congratulate the Welsh Government on this, ending the internal market in the NHS, and that we have an NHS where people work for the NHS rather than the private sector.”

Because that's what important, of course, rather than actually treating patients.

Why would people working for the NHS rather than private companies necessarily mean less people were treated?
Working for an organisation not run for profit, should and if run properly WOULD mean that more patients would get treated and treated quicker and more effectively.

You missed my point. I was saying that his dogmatic focus was on the issue of private vs public provision of NHS services, rather than being concerned that NHS in North Wales is so badly run that BCUHB has been placed in Special Measures by WG. He doesn't seem to mind how poor a service is provided, as long as it isn't provided by private companies.

Personally, I believe whatever mix of provision provides the quickest and best level of treatment for all patients is most important. Wouldn't you agree?

[Hugo]

It could be argued that the Cons want the NHS privatised so they can appease the companies that provide financial backing to them.    The NHS was never formed for privatisation but for the benefit of everyone irrespective of their financial standing, unlike the Tory Party that puts a price on everything.
If there are any short comings in the NHS then they should be addressed through the NHS system and not farmed out to Tory backers in the medical industry

[Ian]

Agreed.

[Bosun]

Unfortunately, it must be realised that the NHS is (and I can speak with an amount of experience on this) a potential financial bottomless pit. Just a couple of examples, a new drug that would give certain cancer suffers a 50% chance of a few more months of life – nothing more - £50,000 a month. Who should (or can) make that judgement to proscribe that drug? A 93 year old person could have an operation that might, or might not, save their life, but at a cost of £25,000 which could be spent on a youngsters condition. These are everyday dilemmas for the NHS, and obviously the patient and families may have different priorities to the those of the NHS financial planners. Plus, the continuous re-vamping, new initiatives, re-modelling and meddling by various Health Ministers has created a total shambles. For example, the current Health Secretary, Jeremy Hunt has no medical or NHS experience and has created total uproar within the medical profession for his stupid comments, besides upsetting the Hillsborough victim’s families and over claiming his Parliamentary expenses despite being worth in excess of £4.5 million, but told NHS  workers they cannot have a 1% pay rise. The UK Government website requires 100,00 signatures  for a petition to be debated in parliament; a petition calling for a vote of ‘No Confidence’ in Jeremy Hunt passed that in one day, the first to reach that threshold, and no stands at over 200,000 signatures. The continuous movement of goalposts and re-inventing the wheel are not assisting.

And how can ‘target-driven objectives’ assist patient care? There is a complete lack of accountability within the management of the NHS which only comes to light when the issues become critical, then managers’ move on untainted. The reason for this is the ‘no-blame’ culture in the NHS where no-one is actually held responsible for a situation. In the private sector, a manager is responsible and accountable, and that’s where there has been an attempt to bring commercial accountability into the provision of services, by using outside industry and outsourcing. It’s a fine line, and an emotive one, between provision of services and profit making.

However, until we stop having self-serving, glory seeking, professional politicians who are more interested in sound bites and their expenses in charge, I have no doubt that the rot will continue.

Just look at our own local NHS Trust who have recently had to take on more staff.

Why, patient care?

No.

To deal with the increase in complaints.

[DaveR]

It could be argued that the Cons want the NHS privatised so they can appease the companies that provide financial backing to them.    The NHS was never formed for privatisation but for the benefit of everyone irrespective of their financial standing, unlike the Tory Party that puts a price on everything.
If there are any short comings in the NHS then they should be addressed through the NHS system and not farmed out to Tory backers in the medical industry

The NHS in Wales is a devolved issue, so policy is decided by the Labour controlled administration.

[SteveH]

Summit on big ideas for North Wales moves to Cardiff after 'ministers fail to turn up in region'

A summit about the future of the North Wales economy is to be held in Cardiff after ministers apparently failed to show up to several meetings in the North.
The North Wales Economic Ambition Board (NWEAB) has decided to hold its relaunch meeting in the capital, a move Clwyd West MP David Jones said showed that the North had to go cap in hand to the Cardiff if it wanted to be taken seriously.

It is understood the Minister for Economy, Science and Transport, Edwina Hart, was invited to three meetings of the board in the North but hadn't attended them.
She has agreed to go to the Cardiff meeting, and the government said Mrs Hart would be “visiting” North Wales at some point in September.

North Wales must be part of the Northern Powerhouse

The NWEAB insisted it wanted to go south to “showcase” the region in the capital.

Mr Jones, a former Welsh Secretary, said: “There’s a North West Economic Ambition Board, set up by North Wales local authorities and chaired by Cllr Dilwyn Roberts, leader of Conwy County Borough Council.
“They have sent several requests for Edwina Hart to meet them. But she is expecting them to travel to Cardiff for the relaunch (of the NWEAB). It underlines the Cardiff-centric attitude of the Welsh Government.”

Edwina Hart was apparently invited to several meetings of the board in the north but didn't attendEdwina Hart was apparently invited to several meetings of the board in the north but didn't attend

Conservative MP Mr Jones claimed that the Labour-led Welsh Government regards North Wales as a “remote province”.
He said the Welsh Government should engage with the NWEAB, and start engaging “properly and pro-actively” with the UK Government to leverage the benefits of Northern Powerhouse cities like Liverpool, Manchester and Leeds.
Otherwise North Wales will “continue to decline” compared with the North West of England and the rest of Wales, said Mr Jones.

A Welsh Government spokesman said: “The Economy Minister has accepted an invitation to attend the relaunch of the North Wales Economic Ambition Board. We had no involvement in choosing the time and location of this event.

“The Minister is visiting North Wales in early September.”

Rail electrification in North Wales must be moving faster, MP warns

A NWEAB spokesman said: “The NWEAB has requested an event in Cardiff to raise the profile of the region and showcase the significant economic opportunities in North Wales. The Minister kindly agreed to host the event on our behalf.”

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/north-wales-economy-david-jones-9888474

[Fester]

'Northern Powerhouse', what a disingenuous load of RUBBISH.

[Ian]

Quite.

[born2run]

You are a Northern powerhouse Fester  Z**

[Fester]

You are a Northern powerhouse Fester  Z**

A Northern 'something'-house, B2R... 

[SteveH]

'Huge inequality' between North and South Wales' infrastructure spending revealed

More than twice as much taxpayers’ cash per person is spent on infrastructure projects in South Wales as on those in the North, figures have revealed.
Welsh Government spending on projects in the South comes to £574 more per person than the figure in the North.
Official figures show South Wales gets more spending per capita on projects such as roads and rail than North and Mid Wales combined.

Liberal Democrat AM Aled Roberts blasted the figures, saying they proved the people of North Wales were getting a “raw deal” with their share of the taxpayers’ money.
The North Wales regional AM said: “It’s often stated that more money is spent in the South East of Wales because that is where the most people live, but these figures are per person and still show huge inequality in spending.
“The fact is these infrastructure projects are funded by taxpayers.

“As that is the case, it is completely unacceptable that Labour is spending £574 more per person in South Wales compared to North Wales.”
Allocated spending per head for infrastructure across South Wales totalled £1,014 in the last two years, while in the North the figure was just £440.
Even if the total per person is combined for North and Mid Wales, those regions would still be £266 worse off than the South.

The figures, which were published following a Freedom of Information request by the Welsh Lib Dems, show how much more cash the Welsh Government “projected” to give different regions in 2013/14 and 2014/15 for schemes including housing, health, transport and road improvements, which cost over £500,000.
MORE...http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/welsh-government-spending-north-wales-9931653

[Bosun]

Thanks for that SteveH, it's a very interesting item. There could be a lot of political arguments as to why this is happening, but it's difficult to argue with the figures. I'd like to hear how Labour (or their apologist's) defend this..... it could open an interesting debate on here. 

[Hugo]

Very interesting Steve, we have always felt that that was the case but those figures prove it.     It's sad to see them confirmed though and I would imagine England with the Cons in power would be in a similar position with London ans the SE.

[SteveH]

Two more articles connected with this subject, I tried various searches without luck?

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-south-divide-wont-increase-9439266

http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/promise-new-north-wales-minister-9731378