What 'Mr Ten Per Cent' would mean in Lincolnshire...

Local Tories endlessly try to kid us that the Labour Government doesn't give Lincolnshire enough money for services like police, schools, health and social services.

Of course, they never mention the year-on-year-on-year real cuts we suffered under the last Conservative Government.

And they won't tell you the truth that in contrast to the Thatcher-Major era, in every year of the Labour Government, Lincolnshire County Council has received an inflation busting rise in grant for local services. In the past two years alone, we have received a 15 per cent increase in grant from Whitehall. That's fifteen per cent.

In addition, Labour has given Lincolnshire £30 million to set up and run 36 SureStart childrens centres helping to give youngsters the best possible start in life - including one right here in the Deepings which my daughter Claire and baby Jack attended just this afternoon.

(When I alluded to this figure in the council chamber, a Tory 'grandee' attempted to correct me by saying: 'surely Councillor Dilks, you mean £30 million for the whole country, not just for Lincolnshire...' Er, no, check it out: £30 million just for Lincolnshire!

And while we'd all like more of course, the fact is that millions of pounds more have flowed into our county over the past decade to improve local services - which ironically, local Tories then take credit for.

Despite the Tory hype, Home Office funding for policing in Lincolnshire has gone up from under £50 million a year under the Tories to over £70 million this year.

So what would a change of Government mean for Lincolnshire...?

Thanks to David Cameron's health spokesman Andrew Lansley letting the cat out of the bag yesterday, we now know that if the Tories were ever in charge again, we'd return to eye-watering cuts in vital public services.

We already knew that Cameron's cuts already revealed would mean one in five SureStarts would have to close and Labour's plan to rebuild every Lincolnshire secondary school would have to be scrapped.

But the 10-per-cent across the board cuts that Mr Lansley has now disclosed would mean at least 180 fewer police in Lincolnshire.

That's just the start of it.

I'm not an economist, but it seems right to me that Labour are continuing to invest in public services through difficult times. It seems sensible that taking action now to invest in services - and jobs - and keep people in their homes, will help our country recover quicker and come out of the world downturn stronger. History surely tells us that Tory cuts now would make the recession deeper and last longer.

The fact that Mr Ten Per Cent Cameron's top priority for the economy is tax cuts for a few millionaires tells me all I need to know: Mr Cameron is a slick salesman, but behind the gloss and spin, they're not on the side of ordinary people like me.

But then, they never have been!

Recession can be good for you says Top Tory...

A senior member of David Cameron's Conservative team says "recession can be good for you" as anyone who loses their job will be able to spend more time with their family!

Andrew Lansley's offensive comments, made on an official Conservative Party website, are revealed on the Recess Monkey blog.

As the Monkey says, Lansley has let the cat out of the Tory bag and provided proof if it were ever needed that David Cameron's Conservatives are happy to sit back, do nothing and leave people to sink or swim in the current economic downturn - in contrast to Gordon Brown's action now to help pensioners, families and businesses emerge from the downturn quicker and stronger.

Don't try the link provided by Recess Monkey as it appears that Dave's team have attempted to destroy the evidence by airbrushing out Lansley's entire article from their official website.

At least it's being reported by the London Standard.

Another schoolboy error from Team Cameron.

UPDATE: The Telegraph is reporting that Mr Lansley, who is Cameron's health spokesman, has been forced to apologise for his rather ill-judged remarks...

UPDATE 2: The Guardian points out, it was only a week ago that Conservative Deputy Party Chairman John Maples was forced to apologise after he said that the recession "must be allowed to take its course".

As Work and Pensions Minister James Purnell says, Mr Maples may regret his remarks, but doing nothing is exactly what the Conservatives would do under Cameron/Osborne...

Well, if nothing else, the dividing lines are now crystal clear: Do Something to save jobs and help families, businesses and pensioners with Gordon Brown or Do Nothing under David Cameron.

Discuss!

Exposed: Vested interests who secretly bankroll Cameron team...

David Cameron's front bench team has been exposed after attempting to cover-up potential conflicts of interests over donations.

Grant Shapps, Tory housing spokesman has received tens of thousands of pounds of cash to run his office from five different companies - all with vested interests in, er...housing.

Two online mortgage brokers, an estate agent, a commercial property developer and solicitors specialising in conveyancing and remortgaging all give money to fund the office of David Cameron's housing spokesman.

Andrew Lansley, Cameron's health spokesman has taken funds to run his office from a company that runs two secure children's homes as well as the owner of the largest manufacturer of NHS beds.

Jeremy Hunt, Cameron's spokesman on tourism, has received funds for his office from the chairman of the Conservative Tourism Taskforce and former chairman of the British Tourist Authority.

And Rutland MP Alan Duncan, Cameron's spokesman on business, enterprise and regulatory reform, gets cash for his office from the president and chief executive of an oil company!

These are just examples of a secret web of Tory donors uncovered in the official investigation by the Parliamentary Commissioner into complaints against George Osborne, Cameron's Shadow Chancellor which I reported on HERE.

The Commissioner ruled that Osborne himself failed to declare almost half a million pounds from donors to run his office which had been channelled through general Conservative party funds but earmarked for his use.

Finding that Osborne broke the rules, the Commissioner has ordered every member of the Tory frontbench to disclose who funds their offices.

David Cameron talks a good game on transparency in politics, but the actions of his would-be Cabinet tell a different story.

Now the hypocrisy of Cameron's team has been officially exposed, he must come clean and publish without delay a full list of exactly is buying influence in his Party...

Breath-taking Quote of the Day came from George Osborne, Cameron's Shadow Chancellor. After being found guilty of breaking the rules he had the brass neck to say:

'I am glad that the rules have now been clarified and I will of course continue to adhere to them.'

Same Old Tories, eh?

FIVE UPDATES: Cameron crap in his own backyard...

As if this morning's headlines weren't a disaster for David Cameron, his dissembling document on The NHS cuts that never were is now disintegrating even in his own back yard. Here's the facts:

Responding to angry claims by the David Cameron's own local hospital that the Conservatives had got their facts wrong, Tory health spokesperson Andrew Lansley denied ever claiming that A&E services were under threat.

He told 5Live:

we wouldn't get that wrong, blimey, it serves David Cameron's own constituency.

That was yesterday. This morning the BBC Today programme showed that the Tory document DID wrongly claim that A&E at the Horton Hospital, Banbury was under threat. Blimey indeed.

But it's even worse for Cameron. The Today programme has clearly demonstrated that Cameron's claims that maternity services in his own constituency are under threat is more scaremongering rubbish.

Sir William Stubbs chairman of the Oxford Radcliffe NHS Trust told the Today programme this morning:

As far as the A&E is concerned, there is no threat, indeed it's rather the opposite, the board has agreed to invest additional funds in improving both the consultant provision and the nursing provision at the A&E, so that is not something that people need to be concerned about, indeed people living locally can to be reassured.

That's more investment, not less Mr Cameron.

So what's left is the claim in his NHS cuts document that maternity services serving Mr Cameron's constituency are also under threat.

Sir William said changes to maternity services were taking place - but to improve, not cut the service. Change driven not by financial pressures, but by clinical need to modernise the service!

Sir William said it was a pity Opposition parties didn't check their facts before shooting nonsense from the hip. Indeed.

If the Tories had bothered to Google before publishing their damaging document, they would have found this Oxford and Radcliffe NHS Trust press release from just last month which includes the following information which would have saved a lot of egg on their faces:

(Since 2003)... a number of significant developments have taken place within the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals. These include:
* the opening of the new Emergency Department at the John Radcliffe Hospital;
* the opening of the Children’s Hospital, Oxford;
* the transfer of adult services from the Radcliffe Infirmary, to state of the art facilities within the new West Wing at the John Radcliffe Hospital;
* the construction of the new Oxford Cancer Centre (which will open in the Spring of 2008), at the Churchill Hospital;
* considerable investment in the Horton General Hospital in Banbury, including the opening of a new Medical Assessment Unit, the installation of a new CT scanner, and the refurbishment of many areas of the hospital

Sounds like more NHS investment not less in your own back yard Mr Cameron. Check it out.

Or this which took me three seconds to find on Google (italics are mine):

At its meeting in public yesteday (26 July 2007), the Board of the Oxford Radcliffe Hospitals accepted the recommendations of two clinical groups, and the Executive Board of the Trust, to implement changes to the way in which some of the services at the Horton General Hospital will be delivered in the future, including the expansion of some services. In making this decision, the Board also took account of the report and recommendations of the Stakeholder Panel.

Chairman Sir William Stubbs said: “The need to consider changes at the Horton General Hospital reflects our growing concern that we could not continue to run some services safely or to the highest current standard. We have a duty to our patients to do both.

“The decision of the Board to accept these changes is based on extensive evidence and advice from clinical experts, including staff running the services, and national clinical leaders in their fields. Changes in medical education, restrictions on the hours which doctors can work, and best practice guidance which indicates the need for fewer more specialist centres to provide services such as paediatric s and obstetrics, have all been factors which have been taken into account.

Non Executive Director Caroline Langridge said: "As a resident of North Oxfordshire, I want to ensure the best possible services for local people at the Horton General Hospital. Over the past two years, I have become convinced of the need for change in the paediatric, obstetric and gynaecology services. I have wanted to ensure that the changes were used as an opportunity to develop some first class services at the Horton, and were not simply a series of cuts. I am extremely pleased at the enhancements to the original proposals, as these allow for a number of important developments.

I am a keen supporter of birthing centres, and believe that the extra investment which we have agreed for the Horton will enable us to develop a first rate facility for women in North Oxfordshire. I also believe that the new children’s service will quickly be established as a real asset to the area. I have advocated the establishment of a women’s surgical ward at the Horton for some time, and am pleased that this is now possible.

Blimey indeed.


UPDATE 1: The Daily Mirror reports that 15 - more than half - of the hospitals on Cameron's list have now complained that he has got his facts wrong.

UPDATE 2: The Tories have now apologised to hospitals in Telford and to the Horton in Banbury - in his own backyard.

UPDATE 3: The Tories have issued a press release refusing to back-down.

UPDATE 4: Half an hour after their press release in UPDATE 3 (above), journalists were pointing that it contained a major error. A new corrected press release has now been issued.

UPDATE 5: Bizarely, the Tories have now withdrawn their apology to the Telford Hospital, saying it was a mistake by a junior researcher. Channel 4 News reports that Telford Hospital say they have not been informed that the apology has been withdrawn.



Further Background:

See yesterday's posts Tory MP says sorry to hospital

Cameron battered in first eight rounds

Major's aide tells Tories to do more homework