merridew

Em, no. No it isn't. Private healthcare gets to cherry pick off all the more straightforward stuff (knee replacements, dermatology) but curiously enough is quite content for the NHS to handle all the expensive stuff (intensive care, trauma).

It took over 40 years to privatise everything on that list. Not exactly "fairly quick".

Feel free to consider it "scaremongering bollocks" all you like, but be aware that government ministers literally wrote a book about how much they want to do it.

And be aware everyone thought that British Rail would never be privatised, either. But of course it was. After it had been run into the ground through underfunding.

Wow. Patients given choice? Perish the thought! You should be forced to have mediocre healthcare, peasant!

Do you think private healthcare is illegal in the UK or something? Have you not heard of people going private?

It is a bold move to say that "Tories want to privatise nationalised services" is a conspiracy theory, given the number of times they have already done it.

• British Aerospace
• British Gas
• British Airways
• British Petroleum (BP)
• All 10 Regional Water Authorities
• National Power
• British Rail
• Royal Mail
• The National Probation Service
• The Forensics Science Service

ETA: They also tried it with the Forestry Commission.

It was thought that British Rail was so beloved that no one would dare sell that off, too.

It's not very good now that the Tories have starved it of funds for over a decade with a view to selling it off.

In 2005, Direct Democracy: An Agenda For A New Model Party was co-authored Jeremy Hunt Michael Gove, David Gauke, and Kwasi Kwarteng, among others.

On page 78, it states that

Our ambition should be to break down the barriers between private and public provision, in effect denationalising the provision of health care in Britain.

And on page 74 asserts that

patients, either through the tax system or by way of universal insurance, [should] purchase health care from the provider of their choice

NHS c. 2009 was excellent. Don't forget that.

Yes, US salaries always look misleadingly high without taking the insurance situation into account.

It is not an appropriate word to use when talking to a teacher, no. A "pretty mild" swearword is still a swearword.

Can't say I blame them. It's really rough.

Got complacent about the weather and forgot to bring my washing in yesterday. It rained overnight & is still raining.

EU welfare standards have always been minimum standards, not maximum standards.

I quit with the death of RiF.

Ah, I forgot that councillors don't read newspapers. There's no way a councillor in North Somerset could have been aware of this attack in Surrey, as reported in the national papers.

You give your name & address at your local polling place, and it is checked off by a polling officer against the Electoral Roll. So yes, you could pretend to be someone else, but they would need to have not already voted. And you could only do it once per polling station, because you'll be recognised by the polling officers. And for what?

Hah, guess.

American Bully XL

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/uk/natasha-johnston-surrey-dogwalker-american-bully-xl-london-b1082064.html