The usual deranged loony left line on the Tories’ supposed ‘privatisation’ of the NHS didn’t land well for Nadia Whittome on Politics Live this morning. Asked to explain her tweet that the government’s “pushing through a Bill that would further privatise [the NHS]” with the new health and social care reforms, Whittome claimed it was the result of allowing private bodies to sit on new integrated care boards. Unfortunately that claim was quickly debunked by Dave West, the Health Service Journal’s Deputy Editor, who actually knew what he was talking about:
“This Bill, if anything, as some other Labour MPs who have been following this closely and know a lot about the health service have made the point, this Bill if anything brings an end to contestability and the internal market in the NHS… under the existing law brought in by the coalition government in 2012, there [sic] are quite substantial – the most requirements there’s ever been on the NHS to tender services out to potential bidders in the private sector. This will bring an end to that.”
Every single claim Whittome made about the Bill was shot down, as if she was at an under-prepared university interview. Whittome eventually insisted that she didn’t “want to get bogged down in a discussion about privatisation”…
Danny Finkelstein pointed out the absurdity that she was the one ‘bogging down’ the debate in the first place…
It looks like Marco Longhi and Lee Anderson have decided it’s long past time Tory MPs capitalised on the TikTok comedy frontier…
Up until perhaps the 1990s, parliament’s benches were filled on the Labour side with union veterans, people who had previous professional careers in the public sector or law. Likewise on the Tory benches you would find pin-striped captains of industry, City grandees, retired colonels, country squires and plenty of lawyers. There were exceptions, and even some women, on the whole though members of parliament tended to have some life experience, which comes with ups and downs, knocks and triumphs. That changed as political careers vectored from Oxford University, a job at party HQ learning about the cynical machinery of politics, or at a campaign or a think tank, followed by a spell as a special adviser before being parachuted into a constituency. Cameron becoming Tory leader aged 40 exemplified the potential youthful path to power…
This is not a good thing; Guido always advises young people intent on a career in politics to go and do something else for a decade, something productive. Guido has no insight into what ails the youngest MP in parliament, Nadia Whittome, such that she needs to take a break from parliament due to PTSD. Parliament may be daunting though nothing akin to the trenches of the First World War. The shells lobbed on social media may ruin your day, they don’t kill. The human mind however can be fragile and politics is a contact sport, which social media makes feel like a 24/7 activity. Taking a break may help one gain more perspective. Having more years of life experience outside the political crucible might just give aspiring politicians more much-needed perspective.
Rare scenes of civil liberty unity on Question Time last night as every panellist came out against domestic covid passports, and a forced requirement by employees for workers to have the vaccine; with the far-left Nadia Whittome, hardline-centrist Layla Moran and CRG chair Mark Harper all opposing the floated measure for different reasons:
The founder and CEO of the Oakman Inns chain, also on the panel, said he would be “deeply uncomfortable” with enforcing the principle of ‘no jab, no job’ for his employees. It seems Covid has met a rival pandemic that’s spreading even more rapidly: common sense…
With babyfaced Socialist Campaign Group member Dan Carden resigning today, it can be hard to keep track of all the young loony left Labour MPs. As they make more headlines becoming increasingly assertive against Sir Keir, Guido today brings you a comprehensive guide to keeping track of the loony left’s 2019 intake. Some have already made quite a name for themselves…
All are members of the Socialist Campaign Group – now boasting 34 MPs, along with stalwarts John McDonnell, Diane Abbott, and Jeremy Corbyn. It is striking how many replaced former centrist Labour MPs from Chuka Umunna and Mike Gapes to Luciana Berger, Ann Coffey, and Chris Leslie. Now hard left cranks sit in their former seats – many cushioned by massive majorities. What a stunning success ChangeUK was…
Brilliant scenes on Peston last night as baby Corbynista Nadia Whittome found out she’d been forcibly resigned by the Labour Party from her PPS role after voting against the Overseas Operation Bill. Labour had put in a one-line whip to abstain on the bill, however Nadia voted against it along with her pals Corbyn, McDonnell, Abbott, other hard-liners and two fellow PPSs.
The Mirror’s Oliver Milne was correct that, as Nadia was being interviewed, she’d been removed from her post. When Labour said the three frontbenchers had “resigned”, they in fact meant sacked or ‘forcibly resigned’ – as opposed to the three submitting letters of resignation prior to breaking the whip. If you thought Nadia finding out was funny, the reaction of the TrotsApp crowd on Twitter was even more funny…
UPDATE: Read Nadia’s full statement on her sacking below:
