Archive for January, 2010
Local Conservatives Join Local Efforts to Aid Haiti
Posted by Richard | Filed under International Development
Local Conservatives Raised Over £200 for Haiti Appeal
Last Friday, Bedford Conservatives raised over £200 to help the Red Cross work to relieve the suffering in Haiti.
Many local groups and local people are doing their bit to help out the people of Haiti and I am delighted we could join with these efforts.
The politics of division are the politics of despair
Posted by Richard | Filed under Democracy
Substance in politics is what really matters but sometimes the tone matters too. Contrast the opening efforts in the General Election campaign between Gordon Brown and David Cameron.
Gordon Brown and the Labour Party have launched divisive attacks – based on class, on bankers, on those with support hunting. The tone is one that seeks to deflect blame from the Government’s own failings but also one which seeks to divide the country in to “them” and “us”.
The Conservatives put healthcare first
Posted by Richard | Filed under Health
Yesterday, David Cameron launched the Conservative Party’s draft health manifesto, which you can read here, Conservative Party Draft Health Manifesto.
The draft manifesto has lots of sensible initiatives that will focus money on the provision of healthcare rather than management and process initiatives.
The draft manifesto also points the way forward to give each of us more power to choose our public health providers, and it does it in a very sensible way, seeing the GP as our guide rather than relying on us as isolated – and, sometimes, ill-informed – “consumers”.
Local Health Services – Your Opinions
Posted by Richard | Filed under Bedford & Kempston, Health
Richard and Lucy with some of the replies to the Family Health Survey
Last year, over 1000 residents in Bedford and Kempston participated in my survey of local health services and issues – a huge response rate and one that indicates how important the NHS is to us all.
A summary of some of the findings from the survey is available here, 2009 Health Survey Feedback.
