Bye Bye NHS

[AuroraSaab]

I read a thing ages ago that suggested that what the British public support are 'left wing' (in quotes because I'd say some of them weren't particularly lefty) policies, but they don't want them enacted by left wing politicians. If the Tories announced plans to put up income tax and ring fence the money for the NHS, nationalise the railways, and embark on a council house building scheme, it would be a huge vote winner.

 

[presta]

Blair got elected after the Thatcher (and Major) years, and after the poll tax debacle any Labour campaign would have won....Jeremy Corbyn is not 'frothing' left wing at all. He is essentially a nice socially democratic chap.

What Corbyn and his acolytes can't grasp is that you need seats to win an election, not votes (and certainly not the hordes of new Labour party members that they kept crowing about). A handful of votes in Tory marginals, not more votes in Labour safe seats, and you won't steal votes from Tories by moving to the left.

Blair, Brown, Mandelson & Campbell understood this, and I recently heard Starmer make a comment to the effect that they'd been identifying marginal constituencies to target where they need to win votes, so it looks like he does too.

Lose Lose Lose Lose Blair Blair Blair Lose Lose Lose Lose Starmer.....?

When confronted with the objection that the left wing won't like it if Labour moves to the right, Mandelson once said "Yes, but where else have they got to go?".

And that's the point, if the left wing think their manifesto could win an election they're free to set up a party of their own, instead of hijacking the Labour party and making them unelectable. Blair was successful because he had the strength to resist the left, and Cameron visited a disaster upon the country because he didn't have the strength to resist the right, now we'll see what Starmer's made of.

 

[AndyRM]

On current evidence, Starmer doesn't seem to be made of much. If the Conservatives weren't so unbelievably incompetent I wonder if he'd be as popular.

Blair was elected on the sweep of things only getting better, whereas my perception of things is that Starmer's going with them not being able to get any worse.

I hope I'm wrong!

 

[albion]

I read a thing ages ago that suggested that what the British public support are 'left wing' (in quotes because I'd say some of them weren't particularly lefty) policies, but they don't want them enacted by left wing politicians. If the Tories announced plans to put up income tax and ring fence the money for the NHS, nationalise the railways, and embark on a council house building scheme, it would be a huge vote winner.

It has not worked for the Tories. They simply ended up warring amongst themselves.
Plus it was simply an attempted diversion from the economic ineptitude of Brexit.

 

[presta]

Staff are run off their feet because the NHS keeps spending the budget on more staff instead of investing in the capital equipment that would improve productivity:
View: https://twitter.com/sib313/status/1788218565121671222

 

[icowden]

Staff are run off their feet because the NHS keeps spending the budget on more staff instead of investing in the capital equipment that would improve productivity:

Not strictly true. The NHS has to balance investment in equipment with the funding it receives. Sometimes the Government doesn't help. For example up until 2010 the NHS had an Enterprise deal with Microsoft which meant that it received a large discount on licenses for Microsoft products including Microsoft Office and Windows. From 2010 on, it was down to each Trust to buy its own licenses.

Happily in 2023 NHS England agreed a new contract with Microsoft, so all Trusts should now be on the latest versions of Windows and Office 365. The "windows XP" that Dr Patel encountered was likely back in 2020.

That said, there is a constant spend by the NHS on poor quality IT applications and on moving from one Application to another (I shouldn't complain really as it keeps me in work), and sometimes back again.

 

[AndyRM]

Whoever installed that build of XP has really made an arse of if it's "ceaselessly updating".

 

[icowden]

Whoever installed that build of XP has really made an arse of if it's "ceaselessly updating".

It's most likely an old machine in a busy location that isn't being allowed or isn't able to complete the update, thus it keeps trying to do it. Additionally, the clinicians probably haven't bothered to log it with IT. The number one reason for machines not being fixed is that everyone thought someone else would log the issue.

 

[AndyRM]

It's most likely an old machine in a busy location that isn't being allowed or isn't able to complete the update, thus it keeps trying to do it. Additionally, the clinicians probably haven't bothered to log it with IT. The number one reason for machines not being fixed is that everyone thought someone else would log the issue.

Could be worse I suppose, they could have Vista.

 

[albion]

The thung abiut Windows is that if it only gets used occasionally you get an hour plus of updates every time you do need it.

 

[Fab Foodie]

The thung abiut Windows is that if it only gets used occasionally you get an hour plus of updates every time you do need it.

Many/most businesses run Windows without issue. What matters is having a competent IT department to manage only the updates that are necessary and have suitable protections to ensure nothing else clutters-up the system. It helps also to have software that's fit for purpose, properly integrated and fully supported by its developers.
If the commercial sector can do this there's no practical/technical reason why the public sector can't either....

 

[icowden]

Could be worse I suppose, they could have Vista.

You of all people should know that requires a TRIGGER WARNING....

<breathes deeply into paper bag>

 

[icowden]

Many/most businesses run Windows without issue. What matters is having a competent IT department to manage only the updates that are necessary and have suitable protections to ensure nothing else clutters-up the system. It helps also to have software that's fit for purpose, properly integrated and fully supported by its developers.
If the commercial sector can do this there's no practical/technical reason why the public sector can't either....

It can get a bit complicated. What has tended to happen historically is this:-

IT Director: We are going to upgrade all workstations to Windows 10
Most people: Hooray!
Clinician 1: Will the system that we use for sending X-Rays work on it?
IT:; Er... No. Looks like we still need Internet Explorer 11 for that and WIndows XP.
IT Director: We are currently carrying out a compatibility review as it has been highlighted that some key clinical functions may not work under WIndows 10.
IT: <starts going through vendor warranted environment specs> Contacts vendor - we need to upgrade this system to be compatible with Windows 10.
Vendor: Well it isn't. We hadn't planned to do that.
IT: <starts procurement of new system>
IT Director: I am pleased to announce that all workstations are now running Windows 10.
Most people: But we are all on WIndows 18 now!

Although notably all the hospitals I worked in bypassed Vista entirely and went from Windows XP to Windows 10/11 with nothing in between. Maybe the odd Windows 8 machine for a Director level bod making a fuss.

 

[PedallingNowhereSlowly]

The Labour party is no longer a populist party, thank God, and the massive swelling of its membership was down to, initially, £3 membership and the nonsense populist tactics of Corbyn.

Wonder where that got us?

Lansmann's cult had to go. Corbyn went by his own hand, in typical idiotically dim Corbyn fashion.

I'm not going to be lectured by the people whose political naivety delivered Brexit, Johnson, Truss and an extra 9 years of Tory misrule. By the way, "Mandelson-shaped" has an anti-semitic conspiracy ring to it.

Sorry, the same Labour party that just welcome Natalie Elphick into it's rank?
Corbyn .. populist? You are having a laugh, surely?

And accusing me of antisemitism because I refer to Peter Mandelson's influence over the current incarnation of the Labour Party ... no that's not a joke. That's defamation.

 

[PedallingNowhereSlowly]

If you want to try and argue that anti-semitic tropes about evil Jews in the background secretly controlling events don't exist then be my guest.

There's nothing "secret" or "in the background" about Peter Mandelson's role in the current labour party.
https://www.theguardian.com/politic...s-of-new-labour-in-keir-starmers-inner-circle
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/oct/07/whos-who-in-keir-starmers-reshaped-top-team

Stop using false claims of antisemitism to silence people you disagree with.