Belated Happy New Year....

.....and apologies if anyone is still reading... Christmas and New Year have been stressfull, what with Swine 'Flu in the family and other medical complications. These are happily past now, and the new year has properly begun.....

Where to start? So much has been going on, but the big development seems to me to be that the gloss is coming off the coalition. The opinion polls are turning against them and their competence is being questioned at every turn, from the handling of the 'flu problems to bankers bonuses to in-fighting between the coalition partners. Much of the disillussion is caused by the speed and secrecy with which very big changes are being rushed through: changes to schools and education and local government which are designed not to improve efficiency and effectiveness, but to alter forever the relationship between the voters and these institutions.

Today we have the Health Reforms in England, the stated aim of which is to devolve power to GPs, but which has the un-stated aim of carrying privatisation ever deeper into the NHS.

Left Foot Forward has an interesting analysis of the language used to cover  up the real objectives of the changes.

And just in case you were in any doubt about the need to resist such changes and the effects of  a privatised medical system, there's this report from an The Commonwealth Foundation on the under-performance of the US medical system compared to seven other wealthy countries. The UK comes second on the table of achievements, which is quite good for what the Tories call "our failing NHS". The USA, with its mainly private medical provision comes seventh out of seven...