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Liberal Democrat District Councillor for Buckland and Milber Learn more
by admin on 3 April, 2018
A staggeringly depressing news item today reports children going to school hungry, poorly clothed with holes in their shoes. The BMA state that A&E waiting lists will remain high throughout the summer. The Government mouths platitudes about how they have increased budgets, but know full well it isn’t enough and do nothing to correct the short fall.
I am sorry Andrew Lansbury, former Minister of Health is suffering from Prostrate Cancer ( also on today’s news), and he actually states that under funding of the NHS was directly responsible for his illness not being diagnosed sooner! I can’t help thinking of “chickens” and “roost”…but of course I wish him and all sufferers well.
This is not Victorian England. We are a rich country. All children should be properly cared for ( and that includes a hot free school lunch time meal) If parents lack the skills we must make sure those skills can be learned , not just for today’s children but for generations to come.
No one should have to wait for treatment…mental or physical; no child should go to school hungry and with holes in their shoes. Health care should not depend on the ability to pay; children ( and their families ) should not have to depend on food banks.
I repeat, “This Is Not Victorian England” and yet the Conservative Government is keen to turn a blind eye.
“We are a rich country” is a line we hear all the time from politicians of all stripes, about many issues. However, it’s only true up to a point. “We” are a country with a lot of very wealthy people, and many highly profitable companies. however, the inequality of income and wealth gulf, the low wages companies like to pay, and all the tax fiddles available to the Filthy Rich all combine to ensure that the mass of ordinary people are not at all rich, and millions are struggling to cope. The poverty of millions, and the neglected degraded state of local environments and facilities give the lie to all the toffs trumpeting “we are a rich nation”. NO ‘WE’ ARE NOT, but thousands of greedy bastards are.
I do wish you wouldn’t under state your position so…..Your point raises other issues that I wasn’t wishing to deal with in this blog, like the use of the tax system to redistribute wealth more equitably; means testing; the growing gap between the haves and have nots; but the point remains that, despite slow decline, we remain a very wealthy country with the potential to alleviate many of the problems we agree must be dealt with, of which child poverty is one and nation wide free medical care is another.