A blog by Ross of Penge (formerly of Balham)

I blogged pretty extensively during 2014 and early 2015, but got out of the habit. In the time since there has been a huge amount I've sort of wanted to write about (politics, terror etc) but I haven't. I tried several times, but anger and frustration about what was happening prevented me from getting things down in a coherent form. Given I couldn't express what I felt, and it didn't seem like it would make a difference anyway, I let it lie fallow.

It's now early 2017, and I'm back, blogging about my attempt to do the first month of the year without social media. After that, who knows?

And why gateway2thesouth? Named after a famous sketch popularised by Peter Sellers:

"Broad-bosomed, bold, becalmed, benign,
Lies Balham, four-square on the Northern Line."

I lived in Balham for 23 years - longer than I have been anywhere else, and it still feels like one of the places in the world I most belong.

Friday 9 May 2014

UKIP Twitter storm

An impromptu blog.

As I sat and simmered at the antics of Farage on Question Time, I came across a piece on a Green Party local Twitter feed which I forwarded on.

















Normal Twitterage follows - and then I wake this morning to dozens of Retweets, and the first "replies" from the UKIPs.

People of Britain. Do you think that David Cameron's changes to the NHS are a good thing? Are they just a start but you'd like more please.

Nuttall's blog contains (as at now) this













Which links to this report, by these people - the "leading provider of independent health care services in the UK".

They are not advocating Privatisation. Let's be clear about that. They certainly say they are not. But they are advocating a greater use of private resources in Healthcare, through Partnership and for example:

  • allowing transfer of NHS staff to the private sector
  • charging for missed appointments
  • tax relief on private medical insurance
  • "allowing people to top up and buy extra services if they so choose" this is a direct quote.
This blog is not saying that there is anything wrong with these aims. Whether from a member of the European Parliament or from the "leading provider of independent health care services in the UK".

But lets have some openness UKIP. Is this party policy? If not, where does Mr Nuttall stand? If so, should this not merit a bit more of the debate? After all, at this rate, the Romanian's coming over here won't have a free NHS service to use. Perhaps that's the point.

corrected 13:05pm for fairly obvious typo. Blog in haste, correct at leisure! Sorry.



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