Pot calling the kettle black award of the century
The sheer effrontery of the Labour party when it comes to making attacks on people for things they do themselves never ceases to amaze me.
Don't just take my word for it. Earlier this year I would have said that the leading contender for a "Pot calling the kettle black" award in this decader was a speech by Ed Miliband which was described by former Labour activist Dan Hodges as follows:
"Ed Miliband's attack on political cynicism is the most cynical thing I've seen in years."
It's worth a read of Dan's piece "here" which is a brilliant piece of political dissection, but as a contender for any "pot calling the kettle black" award that speech was upstaged today by Andy Burnham.
Yes, that's the same Andy Burnham who was the last Labour secretary of state for Health and is currently Labour's shadow secretary of state for health'
The same Andy Burnham who greatly increased the role of private clinics and providers in the NHS, using Cumbria as one of the testing grounds, along broadly the same lines that the Andrew Lansley Health bill wrote into law - except that as passed it had rather greater safeguards."
The same Andy Burnham who earlier in this parliament suggested it was "irresponsible" of the Coalition government not to make the NHS bear a share of the cuts which had to be imposed on public spending when the coalition inherited a spending position of four pounds going out for every three coming in in taxes.
Yes, Andy Burnham effectively said it was "irresponsible" of the government not to cut the NHS.
But today the man who five years ago was privatising the NHS and four years ago said the present government was spending too much on the NHS, is now saying that the law which put the privatisation which he himself introduced on a proper legal framework should be repealed, and that a Labour government would spend more on the NHS.
(Mind you, that has to be put in context. Miliband promised to spend £2.5 billion more on the NHS over ten years. The present government has spent £12 billion more on the NHS in less than five.)
Apparently Mr Burnham is hoping nobody has a long enough memory to remember his record.
I would like to think that many NHS workers, and many of the rest of the British people, have a longer memory than Andy Burnham hopes.
Don't just take my word for it. Earlier this year I would have said that the leading contender for a "Pot calling the kettle black" award in this decader was a speech by Ed Miliband which was described by former Labour activist Dan Hodges as follows:
"Ed Miliband's attack on political cynicism is the most cynical thing I've seen in years."
It's worth a read of Dan's piece "here" which is a brilliant piece of political dissection, but as a contender for any "pot calling the kettle black" award that speech was upstaged today by Andy Burnham.
Yes, that's the same Andy Burnham who was the last Labour secretary of state for Health and is currently Labour's shadow secretary of state for health'
The same Andy Burnham who greatly increased the role of private clinics and providers in the NHS, using Cumbria as one of the testing grounds, along broadly the same lines that the Andrew Lansley Health bill wrote into law - except that as passed it had rather greater safeguards."
The same Andy Burnham who earlier in this parliament suggested it was "irresponsible" of the Coalition government not to make the NHS bear a share of the cuts which had to be imposed on public spending when the coalition inherited a spending position of four pounds going out for every three coming in in taxes.
Yes, Andy Burnham effectively said it was "irresponsible" of the government not to cut the NHS.
But today the man who five years ago was privatising the NHS and four years ago said the present government was spending too much on the NHS, is now saying that the law which put the privatisation which he himself introduced on a proper legal framework should be repealed, and that a Labour government would spend more on the NHS.
(Mind you, that has to be put in context. Miliband promised to spend £2.5 billion more on the NHS over ten years. The present government has spent £12 billion more on the NHS in less than five.)
Apparently Mr Burnham is hoping nobody has a long enough memory to remember his record.
I would like to think that many NHS workers, and many of the rest of the British people, have a longer memory than Andy Burnham hopes.
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