Conservatives sell 'Access to the Prime Minister' and 'Influence on Government Policy' for £250k

The Tory party co-treasurer Peter Cruddas has had to resign after being caught offering access to the prime minister and chancellor for £250,000.

He was forced to resign after footage from a Sunday Times sting operation showed him making the offer to undercover reporters.

In his resignation statement last night the senior Conservative responsible for collecting donations for the party said he deeply regretted the repercussions of his "bluster" during the recorded conversations. 

In the footage, he is heard to say: "£200-250k is premier league … what you would get is, when we talk about your donations the first thing we want to do is get you at the Cameron/Osborne dinners" ...

"You do really pick up a lot of information and when you see the prime minister, you're seeing David Cameron, not the prime minister. But within that room everything is confidential – you can ask him practically any question you want" ...
 

"If you're unhappy about something, we will listen to you and put it into the policy committee at No 10 – we feed all feedback to the policy committee."

The newspaper claims the offer was made even though Cruddas knew the money would come from a fund in Liechtenstein that was not eligible to make donations under electoral law. Options said to have been discussed included creating a British subsidiary or using UK employees as conduits. The overseas clients were, in fact, reporters posing as wealth fund executives who had made clear they wished to develop contacts with the prime minister and other senior ministers to further their business.

The revelations will be a considerable embarrassment for the government, especially in the wake of claims in the budget of a supposed crackdown on wealth in offshore havens. Cameron has also made political mileage out of his intention to run a sleaze-free government.

 

The disclosures appear to contradict previous claims by the Conservatives that their high-value donor groups, such as the "leader's group", are for genuine supporters who do not seek to influence policy in return for their cash.

They also raise questions about the role of the prime minister. Months before taking office, Cameron warned that this type of "secret corporate lobbying" was the "next big scandal waiting to happen". Yet the Sunday Times claims the meetings, at which Cruddas claimed "premier league" donors could lobby the prime minister directly, have not been declared to the public.

Cameron clearly knew about such problems, as his own warnings prior to entering office suggest ... however on entering office he chose to ignore his own warnings and carried on regardless ... yet another mistake from an increasingly arrogant and out of touch 'leader' ...

Given this type of behaviour it's no surprise that the damaging NHS reforms were forced through regardless (with Lansley and the Conservative party also heavily backed by Private Healthcare providers) ...

No wonder the Conversatives are also not keen on the electoral commissions recommendations to limit any donations to £10,000 ...

What immoral and corrupt people these people really are ...

Destruction of the NHS ... and 'a mockery of democracy'

The current Government are hell-bent on destroying the NHS ... a NATIONAL health service set up in 1948 by Aneurin Bevan and created out of the ideal that good healthcare should be available to all, regardless of any wealth, and based upon three core principles:

* that it meet the needs of everyone
* that it be free at the point of delivery
* that it be based on clinical need, not ability to pay.

Prior to gaining office the Conservative party deliberately kept secret their radical plans for the NHS from the people of this country. Their plans for the NHS were cooked up by Lansley over many years in opposition, and yet they failed to tell the people anything about their plans prior to the election (as no-one would have trusted them, and no-one would have voted for them)! 

Worse still, the Conservatives continually lied and made use of copious amounts of spin (nb David Cameron is only trained in PR) to persuade the country that they could be trusted with the NHS and that the "NHS would be safe in their hands". What irony and hypocrisy. The NHS reforms introduced by this manipulative Government therefore had no mandate from the electorate, and on entering Government they have consistently (and deliberately) circumvented any democratic right/process. In summary, they have made a 'mockery of democracy'.

And what about their continual spin ... that the NHS is 'Safe in their Hands?' What a joke! On being told by the Information Commissioner (and the High Court) to publish the risk register associated with these reforms, the Government have steadfastly refused to do so, whilst continuing to rail-road the reforms through.

The reforms are highly toxic and designed to deliberately destroy the very foundations/principles of the NHS. They open the doors to mass profiteering, by commissioning groups as well as private providers, which will taking money out of the system that would have otherwise been spent on healthcare. 

They will also destroy the 'doctor-patient' relationship and any trust patients have in their doctors, due to clear conflicts of interest (made clear by the Royal College of GP's) that have not been addressed! Doctors will now have to balance any diagnostic decision (and any decisions about subsequent treatment) with reduced budgets and a new found ability to profiteer (e.g. from withholding/limiting any diagnoses/care provided). The reforms deliberately try to bribe GP's to ration healthcare (e.g. by offering them bonuses for doing so). Yet despite this, the vast majority of GP's directly oppose the bill and want to see it dropped, some out of 'principle', and some from the fact that they know they are going to effectively become a scapegoat and the focus of people's anger (as people realise that care is effectively being withheld by them, unless they can afford to pay). 

Indeed, this Government has been careful to deflect any blame on the future lack of healthcare provision away from themselves and onto local groups (a divide and rule strategy). GP's are clearly the main target but the Government have also effectively removed the world NATIONAL from the term 'National Health Service', as there will no longer be a national standard for the type, or level, of care offered across the country (with no-one taking overall responsibility for this). This will result in a "post code lottery" health service; destroying the concept/principles of a NATIONAL health service ... And if anyone thinks they'll be able to simply move doctors if they're not happy, think again, as the Government have not allowed this (you will effectively have to move house to change your GP surgery - and even then, it will still depend on you being able to find a different, and more caring, commissioning group)!

If offered treatment, patients are also seeing waiting times dramatically increase, with Government officials desperately trying to remove any remaining waiting time measures/targets (n.b. people are also seeing appointments offered, but repeatedly cancelled too). Increasing waiting times are also a crucial (but toxic and hidden) ingredient of these reforms, as they are needed to pressurize people into paying for health insurance and/or paying to queue jump (NB they will now be able to jump the queue, as NHS hospitals will be able to allocate up to 49% of their time/resources to those who pay, and those willing/able to pay will be treated first, by exactly the same NHS doctors and nurses ... which in turn will make waiting lists/times even longer).

This destroys the very foundations of the NHS, in that healthcare should be "based on clinical need and not the ability to pay". With these reforms this will clearly not be the case in the future. Indeed, it is noticeable that Government ministers are always careful not to use this particular phrase when defending their reforms, and only say the NHS is about care still being 'free at the point of delivery'.

With the destruction of the core principles of the NHS, what we are seeing is the dismantling of the NHS ... and a list of 'the guilty', who should be charged with 'crimes against humanity', can be found below, along with their respective roles:

David Cameron, for his lies, deceit and hypocrisy. Andrew Lansley, for cooking up this immoral plan to destroy the NHS. Both parties are guilty of pressing on regardless, ignoring fundamental issues/concerns raised by every healthcare professional group, and systematically manipulating/ circumventing democratic processes (e.g. publication of the risk register).

 

Nick Clegg, for allowing these reforms to progress at all (with no electoral mandate) and forcing Liberal Democrats to ignore all concerns/principles in order to vote for these reforms. Shirley Williams for selling her soul to help Clegg and switching from 'protector' to 'cheerleader' (NB Lord Owen, a previous Democrat along-side Shirley Williams, is still desperately trying to stop the bill without the publication of the risk register demanded by the Courts). 

 

Ed Miliband for 'throwing a sickie' and not attending a rally against NHS reforms, so he could accept a VIP invitation to watch Hull City play football instead.

Andy Burnham (and John Healey), for failing to articulate a clear (and proven) alternative to these reforms ... based on engaging and empowering the workforce to radically improve the service ... and in the process making the NHS more seamless and efficient (i.e. 'lean') ... n.b. the complete opposite of this Government's approach, which focuses on fragmenting (and destroying) the service, ignoring any advice and/ or concerns of healthcare professionals, and handing over the money to those seeking pure profit (e.g. McKinsey's, commissioning groups, insurance companies and private providers), and not those on the front-line who are passionate about the NHS and want to create better healthcare for all (i.e. the healthcare professionals).

and finally, Tony Blair and Gordon Brown, for ditching socialism (in favour of crony capitalism, self-interest and 'spin') and for abandoning all the 'ordinary', hard working, people they were supposed to represent. Their failures (e.g. bank deregulation, bank bailouts and the subsequent pressure to slash public services to pay back all the resulting debt) in effect created an 'open door' for the Conservatives to step into, impose a slash and burn strategy, and blame the Labour party for having to do it! 

RIP NHS ... a casualty of self-interest and greed, and a lack of real democracy ...

and why ... well this is down to a combination of ignorance and apathy.

RIP Britain ... and watch out for impending riots.

Aristotle once said ...

"Democracy is when the indigent, and not the men of property, are the rulers"

"In a democracy the poor will have more power than the rich, because there are more of them, and the will of the majority is supreme"

Those currently in power are desperately trying to ensure that this will never happen ... and indeed the opposite remains true ... by wielding all the power at their disposal (including the deployment of paramilitary forces armed with water cannons, tear gas, tasers and plastic bullets) ... and the answer to this ... mass protest ... withdrawal of labour ... and the use of 21st century technology.

Dictat vs Democracy: Cameron and Lansley try and force through plans to destroy the NHS

The NHS reforms are now being exposed for what they are ... top-down dictat set to systematically destroy the NHS ... that no-one voted for and that no honorable / honest healthcare professional could ever support ...

Before entering office Cameron said his number one priority was the NHS, and that the NHS would be "safe in his hands". He also said he was "determined to put an end to top-down re-organisations".

Yet on entering office we find the complete opposite. Their plans (conceived and developed over many years by Lansley whilst in opposition) are in fact set to systematically destroy the NHS through the most callous, fundamental and profound top-down re-organisation embarked upon in recent UK history ... and prior to the creation of the NHS.

On encountering opposition to their reforms, Cameron announced a "pause" in the bill, "to listen" ... and said "for the reforms to succeed they would clearly need the support of healthcare professionals". Yet on initiating the "pause" it was clear this was nothing more than a PR stunt and that the real purpose was indeed not to listen, but to spend more time persuading! Cameron continually insisted that the problem was one of communication, and not the bill itself. Yet the most "callous" part of this so-called "pause" was not this, but that there was no actual pause at all - as in private Cameron told people to press-on quickly with the reforms (in particular GP commissioning) so they could argue that it was too late to turn back (which they have since repeatedly used). 

By not listening and pressing-on regardless, virtually every healthcare professional group has been forced to harden its position and to call for the bill to be scrapped. It is clear that even the majority of GP's oppose it now, with the minority of greedy GP's (who wanted to profit heavily by getting virtually the entire NHS budget into their own hands) being increasingly exposed (and sidelined) by the vast majority (due to the action of Democracy, as demonstrated by the Royal College of GP's).

And, instead of actually taking time to really listen to doctors and nurses now, Cameron and Lansley have decided to completely ignore them and try to force through their top-down re-organisation, inviting to meetings only those who will do what they say (i.e. Dictat) ... and push back against all those who get in their way ...

Will the UK continue to allow Dictat to crush Democracy ... let's see ... 

Poweromics, demonstrated by people such as Cameron and Lansley, must be challenged ... as Ignorance is not bliss ... and Apathy will kill ...


As another blogger put it ... "Putting the Tories in charge of the NHS is like re-employing Harold Shipman as your GP..."

Irony and Hypocrisy: Corrupt GP's saying the NHS 'in peril' if they are NOT given the money!

With key Royal Colleges and healthcare representatives expressing concern, and in most cases, outright opposition to the proposed NHS reforms, Andrew Lansley and David Cameron are under increasing pressure. 

No-one voted for these NHS reforms and Cameron stated at the last election that he was committed to putting a stop to top-down reforms! David Cameron also said that the NHS would be safe in his hands and that any reforms would need the support of the healthcare professionals, yet despite all these fine words he is still ploughing on despite their outright opposition!

Hypocrisy indeed!

And what is Lansley doing? ... well he clearly decided to call upon a few GP 'friends' to write to the Telegraph to say they back the reforms, with typically threatening rhetoric ... "The NHS will be 'in peril' if the Government's controversial health reforms are prevented from going ahead".

However the letter wasn't signed by any GP, but 56 GP's specifically setting up new commissioning groups who, under the bill, will effectively replace primary care trusts (PCTs) and be handed the almost entire NHS Budget £80bn to manage (and personally profit from)!

The cold reality is most GP's are actually not at the fore-front of healthcare, with many out of date in terms of knowledge, and acting more like money orientated businessmen than healthcare professionals, already pocketing 6 figure+ salaries ... and these 56 particular GP's are looking to take over virtually the entire NHS budget so they can get massive kick-backs, bungs and bonuses (e.g. from rationing healthcare, steering away from optimal clinical decisions and receiving share options/dividends) and in doing so, become Government made multi-millionaires at the expense of patients and taxpayers.

Last November the BMA moved to a position of total opposition to the Bill, and in the New Year the Royal College of Nurses and the Royal College of Midwives  followed suit. The Royal College of GPs is itself is deeply sceptical, although it's not publicly in total opposition yet (due to representations/lobbying from immoral/corrupt GP's like the ones who signed this letter), even though 90%+ are apparently in opposition (due to clear conflicts of interests between 'cashing in' and 'care').

Dr Clare Gerada, chair of the RCGPs, said: "GPs must understand their role in commissioning and we support the principle of greater clinician involvement. But many of our members feel that this could have been done in a less disruptive way by placing GPs on the boards of existing PCTs."

The Government, when it 'paused' to 'listen' to concerns, did not pause in its quest to abolish PCT's and the process of bribing corrupt GP's to ration and privatise healthcare. It therefore no surprise, given the stench of self-interest and personal gain, that these people are providing the only voice backing the reforms. 

Most healthcare professionals, royal colleges and professional bodies know exactly what the Government and these corrupt GP's are up to ... but are finding it difficult to say so publicly. When will one or more of these bodies finally spill the beans and make it completely clear to everyone what is actually going on ... as they certainly have a professional and moral obligation to do so, as ignorance is unfortunately not bliss, and any apathy on their part will almost certainly kill ... literally!

The reality is that the NHS is indeed 'in peril', but only if we give these people the money, not if we don't!

Is the Government 'listening' ? ... to an almost unanimous vote of no-confidence !

The Government have said they need to 'pause' and 'listen' ... to the people and the professionals involved in the NHS .... and the RCN have made their voice heard very clearly today ... delivering an almost unanimous vote of no-confidence in the Health Secretary Andrew Lansley and his management of NHS reforms!  

... and rather than address the RCN conference today, Andrew Lansley elected to meet a small group of nurses from around the UK instead - a decision that caused anger amongst delegates at the conference.

Peter Carter, the general secretary of the RCN, added: 'I hope the health secretary goes away and thinks about what we have said to him. If there aren't changes there will be a hardening of opposition.'

Ed Miliband warned that the plans would put hospitals at risk and lead to staff losing the power to do what they believed was best for patients. He also dismissed the Government's 'listening exercise' as no more than a 'PR stunt', adding that 'they appear to believe that people don't like this bill because the Government hasn't properly explained it ... but the opposite is true ... the more people understand and hear about these proposals the less they like them!' 

'It's not a problem of public relations - it's a problem of principle' and added 'The answer to a bad bill is not to slow it down, but to junk it'.

Selfishness - a Recipe for Failure

For many years "The Apprentice" has offered UK viewers the unedifying sight of desperate contestants fighting it out to become Lord Sugar’s next business protege. However, the show’s celebration of selfishness and ruthlessness as the keys to success in the world of commerce has been debunked by one of the country’s leading businessmen.

Newly-departed Tesco boss Sir Terry Leahy said getting on with others and a work ethic of giving ‘more than you take’ were far more valuable assets – and ones that schools should be instilling in children.

Sir Terry, 55, who left Tesco earlier this month after 14 years at the helm during which he took the supermarket’s annual pre-tax profits from £750million to more than £3billion, said that the show was ‘not a very accurate reflection of business - The Apprentice is good entertainment but it’s got nothing to do with business or how to be successful in business'. 

‘If you’re ruthless and selfish, you won’t do well in business’, and went on to say, ‘Everyone wants a successful society, but to have a successful society you need a successful economy and to have a successful economy you want the best and the brightest wanting to go into business, into enterprise, and seeing it as worthwhile and noble work, which it is.' 

Sir Terry believes that schools should undertake ‘social skills training’ to equip pupils for the workplace as they must be able to work with other people. He said: ‘I think that employers need to be clearer with schools and universities that they also want teaching of values, of citizenship, of how as an individual it’s important to give more than you take. That’s what makes you effective in the workplace – that people like working with you and you’re a useful member of a team and you’re keen and happy to give service.’

Sir Terry left his chief executive role at Tesco three weeks ago, having built the supermarket into the UK market leader. It now has 30 per cent of the market, nearly double that of closest rival Asda.

Sir Terry Leahy speaks a lot of common sense (see my Book, Chapter 6), but unfortunately 'common sense' is not all that 'common', particularly in larger organisations ... where most 'leaders' fail to listen to anyone and enjoy telling people what to do. Flawed HR reward systems also drive people's selfishness and short-term self-interest (partly due to outdated/flawed practices still being taught in business schools), rather than promoting teamwork, listening to customers, and ensuring that everyone's intrinsically motivated and committed to continuously improving the value provided (i.e. through its products, services and solutions) to their customers (which engenders loyalty and creates long-term, sustainable success). 

Sir Terry is also right about the importance of getting things right with regard to creating a successful economy and a successful society ... however, unfortunately for Sir Terry, and the nation, selfishness and self-interest still rule, which is why we are where we are today. Put bluntly, if the UK were already doing what Sir Terry suggests, the UK would not be in the state it's in! 

... and things will have to change rapidly (and fundamentally) if the UK's going to not only survive but prosper. The real challenge faced is all the self-interest shown by current 'leaders', including politicians, the bankers, the landowners, the media and the judiciary, as well as the vast majority of 'leaders' of public bodies and large corporations, who profit heavily from how things currently are and who'll resist any change that's not in their own self-interest.

Indeed, if we look at major changes currently occurring, things are changing ... but change is going in totally the wrong direction! For instance the Government, rather than improving 'leadership practice'*, is currently trying to bribe GP's, using lucrative personal bonuses/deals, to ration healthcare and destroy the NHS, whilst creating fundamental conflicts of interest and destroying the trust between doctor and patient ... contrary to society's best interests ... which is now dividing the GP community ... between the 'good' and the 'greedy'.

Selfishness, self-interest and greed are all around us ... and are destroying this once great nation ... a nation previous generations died in order to protect! Will we see the people of this once great nation once again stand up and be counted ... we shall see! The 'good' GP's/doctors are trying to ... and thousands more besides (sign the petition and join the protests by clicking HERE).

* NB changing 'leadership practice' is currently transforming 'leading' hospitals out of all recognition (e.g. 50%+ improvement in performance, customer satisfaction and staff morale, all in less than a year - referred to in my book too), but this is being completely ignored (because Cameron/Lansley want to ration healthcare and privatise the NHS, not improve it, and prefer to use NHS money to bribe GP's to back their reforms, instead of using it to improve the health of the nation)!