NHS will be at centre of Cameron's speech

CCHQ has released two extracts from David Cameron's big conference speech later today.  Extract one is clearly informed by his experience of the NHS and its care for his son, Ivan.  Mr Cameron commits to protect the NHS' funding, avoid further disruptive reorganisations and ensure professional freedom:

"And I want to give you another reason why I'm not prepared to make irresponsible tax cut promises.  It's a vital reason, because the NHS is vitally important to every family in this country.  It certainly is to mine.  I believe that the creation of the NHS is one of the greatest achievements of the 20th century.   I always believed this.  When your family relies on the NHS all the time - day after day, night after night - you know how precious it is.  So for me, it's not just a question of saying the NHS is safe in my hands.  My family is so often in the hands of the NHS.  So I want them to be safe there. 

Tony Blair explained his priorities in three words: education, education, education.  I can do it in three letters. NHS.  We will serve and support the National Health Service.  We will never jeopardise the NHS by cutting its funding.  But we will make sure the money is well spent. 

So I make this commitment to the NHS and all who work in it.  No more pointless and disruptive reorganisations.  Yes, change is necessary in the NHS.  But that change must come from the bottom up: driven by the wishes and needs of NHS professionals and patients."

In extract two the Tory leader attempts to address criticisms that he his insubstantial because of his failure to develop specific policies:

"Facing up to difficult questions, and making clear where you stand, is what leadership is all about.  I want to deal directly with this issue about substance.  Substance is not about a ten point plan.  It is about deeper things than that.  It is about knowing what you believe. It is about sticking to your guns.  It is about taking time to think things through, not trotting out the easy answers that people want to hear.  It is about character, and judgment, and consistency.  It's about policy, yes: but it's about developing policy for the long-term."

 

Comments

[Richard]

"It certainly is to mine. I believe that the creation of the NHS is one of the greatest achievements of the 20th century."

Highly controversial, at least on the Right. Has Cameron forgotten that the poor did actually have access to healthcare before 1948? Once again I feel the need to recommend The Welfare State We're In.

And he seems to have forgotten an opinion poll that came out relatively recently showing growing public sympathy for a move towards an insurance-based system. I am aware that the European systems are having trouble but can we learn from their mistakes?

What are systems in the Far East like?

[disillusioned activist]

Here we go again..David Cameron making political capital out of his handicapped child. It's nauseating.

My experiences and those of my family of the NHS over the years have led us to see the organisation in a totally different light from Cameron and his cronies

I always suspect the well connected when they use the NHS are given preferential treatment over the rest of us with regards waiting times etc

Richard I live in the Far East(Bangkok) and I find the system (private but affordable /insurance based)excellent. The service is speedy efficient and the doctors treat you as human. The hospital's IT system actually works, and as in my case I often have to see more than one doctor the appointments are always made for the same day thus saving two visits.

Nine months ago today I had surgery there to remove a very early cancer from my colon (diagnosis took 3 days) I have made a full recovery and have a good prognosis. I'm grateful I was not in the UK when I was taken ill. I feel, going on previous experiences in the UK,I should still be waiting for the first colonoscopy...and no doubt the cancer would be spreading

[rich boy with no sense]

Yet more cynical crap. When is he going to wake up to what the NHS actually delivers?

[TomTom]

Richard I live in the Far East(Bangkok) and I find the system (private but affordable /insurance based)excellent.

a) How old are you ?

b) Who pays your premium ?

c) How many pensioners do you meet there ?

d) If you get HIV/AIDs or suffer brain damage will you get lifetime cover even when you no longer pay the premium ?

[Monday Clubber]

"Here we go again..David Cameron making political capital out of his handicapped child. It's nauseating."

Too true.

Totally bankrupt of ideas, he is really scraping the bottom of the barrel.

Some months ago Cameron rightly stated that he would be offended if somebody called his son a "spastic".

Perhaps, therefore, he'll take this key opportunity to condemn the disgusting slur on autistic people made by his shamed colleague George Osborne.

[Ben]

Good try by the Labour folk trying to appear Conservative then attack DC's speech.

Why not copy Labour's attempt on the NHS? Record investment and an awful product and service. - Wake up Labourites, your time in office is slipping away like sand through open hands.

[Afleitch]

As someone who has family who have relied on the NHS in time of need for long term care and eventual death with dignity I can fully empathise with Cameron's position.

[Monday Clubber]

"Wake up Labourites, your time in office is slipping away like sand through open hands."

I wouldn't count on that

Francis Maude admitted to the press on Monday that unless the Tories could get up to 40% (I believe Howard achieved this, but Cameron never has) their chances of winning are slim indeed.

So I wouldn't put any money on it if I were you.

Already this conference is being ticketed as a huge let-down so it'll be interesting to see the polls next week.

[James Maskell]

I do feel let down by this. I was expecting a lot more solid policy, meat as it were. What weve got instead is more platitudes. Some might call it setting down foundations, I call it repeating what Camerons already said for them in past speeches...

Cameron using his son again. Id rather he didnt do that. What will Ivan think when he grows up?

[Daniel Vince-Archer]

David Cameron doesn't actually mention his son in those two extracts above.

How about reserving judgement until he actually gives the speech?

[James Maskell]

Its implied through the comments about his families reliance on the NHS.

"When your family relies on the NHS all the time - day after day, night after night - you know how precious it is...My family is so often in the hands of the NHS"

[anon]

Daniel, the text reads "When your family relies on the NHS all the time - day after day, night after night - you know how precious it is. So for me, it's not just a question of saying the NHS is safe in my hands. My family is so often in the hands of the NHS. So I want them to be safe there." This is a direct reference to his family situation for political purposes which many people find off putting.

[Jack Stone]

The fact that David Cameron uses the NHS makes him in an ideal position to know all about the NHS.
Apart from a very few right-wingers most of whom can afford private health care the institution people love most in the country is the NHS.One of the reasons we have lost the last three elections is because people have not trusted as on the NHS.
Not just because its the right thing to do but also because I think no party will ever be elected if people don`t trust them with the NHS we must defend the NHS, we must oppose cuts in services and we must bring to people attention that the expensive and inefficient changes the government have made have damaged the NHS not improved it.

[Daniel Vince-Archer]

"This is a direct reference to his family situation for political purposes which many people find off putting."

Perhaps, but in this instance I don't think saying his family uses the NHS regularly is a case of him using his son as a political football.

A regular criticism levelled at the Conservative Party is that it is out of touch with ordinary folk and one way to counter that is to relate to people through shared experience, such as use of the NHS.

[dctbmerge]

Brutal hatchet job of Cameron on Youtube...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bdo0YurEG1Q&mode=related&search

[Cllr Iain Lindley]

How about reserving judgement until he actually gives the speech?

I couldn't agree more, Daniel. Perhaps I'm a bit cynical but it seems some of the usual suspects on this site aren't actually interested in the content of the speech and are going to slag Cameron off whatever he does...

[matthew]

Sorry 'Disillusioned activist', the only reason healthcare is so wonderful in Bangkok to you is because you earn so much more than the local people and doctors are paid much less, so you can afford the best private hospital. I have seen healthcare for ordinary people in Asia firsthand, which amounts to 'if you don't have money you die'.

E.g., a pregnant woman who went to hospital didn't have money to pay the bill immediately.

The doctors refused to provide with her medicines until the bill was paid. By the time friends and family had raised the money she had died.

Don't you dare uphold third world system where rich people can pay for lower paid doctors while the poor simply die as a standard for healthcare here in the wealthy UK.

You really are an idiot if you don't realise how immensely privileged you are living like a king in Bangkok while those around suffer in squalor

[Chad]

I've got to say that I've always defended the way Cameron has shared his personal experience of the NHS because of his son's additional need.

It will resonate with the experiences of many parents with disabled children or those that need extensive medical care.

Full marks from me on this particular aspect of using his role to highlight an important area.

In a similar way, I have been highly critical of Cameron's rejection of grammar schools, as coming from a privileged background he has no experience of them nor understanding of how they help poor but bright kids to compete with the private schoolers.

[Richard]

"You really are an idiot if you don't realise how immensely privileged you are living like a king in Bangkok while those around suffer in squalor"

That reads like some self-righteous rant out of the Guardian.

OK, I shall request another example - what is the Japanese healthcare system like?

[George Hinton]

The NHS is a shambles and not fit for purpose, and Dave needs to make that point. It is not the front line staff at fault, it is the money spent on bean counters, form fillers and administrators that is wasteful and leaves a funding gap for mainstream services.
The recent scandal of lack of adequate military medical care for injured soldiers is a case point, along with the harrassment from certain of the ethnic minorities in Selly Oak. What are the local rozzers doing about that? (Or are the new laws there to keep the domestic Brits subjugated whilst allowing the ethnic minorities free rein?.)
NuLab will always use the NHS as a bellweather, that any attempt to reform will be used as evidence of privitisation or restricting funding. Nothing is further from the truth. NuLab have thrown billions at the NHS, all to no avail, as they will not deal with the root cause of its problems, which is its structure and administrative top heaviness.
Dave has an opportunity to put NuLab's nose out of joint and gain the support of NHS workers at all levels, apart from the admin types who need to be sacked.

[anon]

Jack - The shared experience of a service does not in itself imply any idea of how best to improve it. Platitudes and sentimental statements are not sufficient. The NHS faces a real dilemma, having to balance the ever increasing drain on its finite resources (and yes they are finite) due to an increasingly elderly population and the increased utilisation of the NHS that aging brings, with the expectations that people have of the service.

Sadly some tough choices are going to have to be made (and in many NHS Trusts these decisions are being made), yet expectations of the public are not being managed. Thanks to this government we have the steady erosion of the medical profession and the de-skilling of medical procedures. We as a party should be outlining what is happening and bringing this to the publics attention. Instead through our silence we appear to be condoning it. I would ask you what you think the party should be doing since you agree with me on this point. I am not asking for policy commitments, merely instead a demonstration of our competence as potential guardians of the NHS. Take this government to task on its record and it is this approach that I hope that David Cameron takes in his speech this afternoon.

Daniel - I think we agree on the point that I made about the inference that could be drawn.

Cllr Lindley - I agree that the ongoing attacks on Cameron are annoying but I think that they are an expression of frustration on the lack of policy that is coming from committed activists within the party. A number of individuals who read and post on this site will be fighting local elections on May 3rd (myself included) and would I suspect prefer to be in a position where they can answer the inevitable questions that will be raised whilst canvassing on the doorstep. As previous stated I am hoping for guidance on the direction we are heading in and some substance with which to respond to my electorates questions.

Please accept my apologies about the length of this post

[pootle]

sorry to be off-message everyone, but was I right in thinking old Sarkozy was supposed to say something by video-link at the conference? I was trying to track it down but can't find any reference to it anywhere. can anyone point me in the right direction?

[John Hustings]

Even if David Cameron uses the NHS, he's not "reliant" on it. He's using the NHS out of choice, probably because he believes that it's beneficial to him politically. He certainly has other options that others, less privileged than him, don't.

It is pretty nauseating to have him pretend that he's in the same situation as the rest of us when he patently is not.

[Serf]

The fact that David Cameron uses the NHS makes him in an ideal position to know all about the NHS.

Well as a reader of Dr Crippen, I think the old people left to starve and get bed sores are actually the ones who know all about the NHS.

The problem with the NHS as it stands, is that a man with David Cameron's intelligence, personality and confidence will recieve a far better service than someone with less education, someone who is older or is less self assured.

The middle classes always get more out of the system because they have the ability to do so.

Most critics of the NHS are simply stating the obvious. The state cannot run a health system on a centralised basis and expect it to be effective. They do not necessarily think that the poor should be left to die in the street.

[Michael McGowan]

Not really interested in what he has to say. His speech will in any case be totally overshadowed by John Howard's farsighted and statesmanlike speech last night at the 50th anniversary dinner of Quadrant magazine.

[malcolm]

Wasn't aware that John Howard had made any speeches at all in Britain.What's Quadrant magazine? I've never heard of it and was therefore unaware it has been in existance for 50 years.

[Michael McGowan]

Have a look on the website of The Australian, Malcolm. There's an edited version of his speech.

[johnC]

My recent impression of the NHS is of dedicated and committed professionals completely let down by the disorganised shambles of the system in which they have to operate. On Saturday morning I had to visit the brand new 'drop in' centre at Milton Keynes Hospital where after only an hour's wait I was able to see a nurse. She however decided I needed to be referred to a doctor but because of the location of my local GP practice I couldn't see a doctor at Milton Keynes where I was but had to make a new appointment at Stoke Mandeville Hospital later in the day. So much for joined up health care. The doctor who finally saw me told me he thought the NHS direct healthline was a complete waste of time: 'they either tell you you are perfectly well, which is highly unlikely, or they tell you that you are ill and need to see a doctor which you already know'.
The purpose is to give the illusion of progress and meet the government's targets for NHS response times but it just causes duplication and unneccesary expense.

[christina speight]

THE NHS has become a sacred cow wandering around consuming but not delivering.

Of course the poor were treated by GPs and in Hospital and FREE if necessary before the NHS. I know as my father delivered both!

Then my brother - a vp of the RC of Physicians - predicted disaster if the service passed out of the hands of doctors into those of administrators. He was one of the last MEDICAL directors (if not THE last) of a major hospital. He retired; an administrator took over. When he had a major crisis his own former hospital could not take him and - too late - he was taken miles to a private hospital.

My grandson is in his last year as a medical student and along with the rest of his year sees no prospect of being employed in Britain.

My husband's hip replacement was delayed till the last moment to July. He was lucky since the hospital is being closed at the end of this month.

I have had two major crises in the last 10 years (1995 and 2006) and the waiting times to see consultants were such that I would not be here now if it had been up to the NHS.

The sacred cow is not only not working - it is a menace. There was nothing wrong with the medical staff though that is not as good as it was. There soon will be a major deficiency as junior doctors are being denied the chance to learn by experience.

=-=-=-=-=-=

And may I add my voice to those who find Cameron's parading of his handicapped son nauseating. He has oodles of money and goes via NHS because it suits him

[Mr Speaker]

Perhaps, therefore, he'll take this key opportunity to condemn the disgusting slur on autistic people made by his shamed colleague George Osborne.

You have made the same point in two topics and, both times, your fellow bloggers wisely ignored it. Unfortunately the BBC, in their pursuit of balanced coverage, did not. It is with regret that I am forced to set the record straight:

Mr Osborne had been recalling his ability to retain odd facts, when the journalist hosting the event joked he might have been "faintly autistic".

In reply, Mr Osborne said: "We're not getting on to Gordon Brown yet."

Nobody would want to be likened to Gordon Brown, but the picture that you have been painting is far from accurate.

[malcolm]

Even Mary Ann Seighart the journalist involved did not criticise Osborne for this.Only the Times trying to make a story a story out of nothing or some on this blog (and the BBC) who hate the modern Conservative party have attempted to do so.Rather pathetic really.

[Richard]

I'm sure Gordon Brown has been called far worse words than "autistic" by many millions of people in this country. To be honest I don't think anybody apart from the BBC and easily-offended bigade really cares.

[Mark Fulford]

When you say that David Cameron “goes via NHS because it suits him”, you are insinuating that he puts his political goals over his family’s needs. That is deeply insulting and says more about you than him. David and Samantha Cameron are lucky to have a financial choice, but I am certain that the choices they make for their family are out of love, not ambition.

The catalog of NHS faults you list is exactly what David Cameron has been talking about, but your ears are closed to anything you don’t want to hear.

[Mark Fulford]

Sorry, that last comment was directed at Christina's. I was too riled to proof it properly...

[Monday Clubber]

Thanks for the heads-up Mr Speaker. It's good to see that the views of Conservatives concerned by Osborne's appalling gaffe are being spread beyond the bounds of this blog.

Decent people need to knoe that not all Conservatives share the "screw 'em" Alan B'stard mentality of Mr Osborne.

By the way, are you an official moderator of this site or just a self-appointed one?

[Alexander Drake]

Malcolm, John Howard was here in Sydney when he gave his speech commemorating 50 years of the excellent Quadrant magazine last night. The PM has been a longstanding contributor, and fan:

http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,20520355-601,00.html

Quadrant is a quality conservative magazine published here in Australia:

http://www.quadrant.org.au

Why do you think David Cameron's speech will be overshadowed by John Howard's, Michael? I would have thought Cameron's speech will get far more airtime than anything Howard would get from Sydney...

[Michael McGowan]

Mark, I think Christina's comment was uncalled for but your reaction is overdone. You cannot possibly know what motivates David and Samantha Cameron, any more than I do. My only guess (and it is a guess) is that as their child is chronically ill, they use the NHS. This makes perfect sense because the private sector in this country is ill-equipped to deal with chronic illness. Having said that, they can also clearly buy the best that the private sector can provide and I very much doubt that they, or the Blairs, experience the end of the NHS that awaits the less articulate and the less well-connected.

If the Camerons were motivated by ambition to pick the NHS, they certainly wouldn't be the first political couple. Only recently, a Tory politician was lecturing other Tory politicians about the need to put politics ahead of their children's educational interests by always sending their children to state schools. I didn't see anything very principled about this.

[Michael McGowan]

Alexander, Cameron's address will not doubt get more airtime here than Howard's speech....but Howard's speech is a much weightier contribution than anything likely to emerge from Bournemouth this afternoon. I cannot imagine Cameron ever being prepared to say the things Howard is prepared to say.

[Monday Clubber]

"My only guess (and it is a guess) is that as their child is chronically ill, they use the NHS. This makes perfect sense because the private sector in this country is ill-equipped to deal with chronic illness"

One would obviously expect that this extremely wealthy couple would be making a voluntary contribution to the hospital/s they use, in order to ensure that the same services are available to the children of less privileged parents.

Let's hope that Cameron is able to confirm that he is indeed doing the decent thing.

BTW I write as one who has raised thousands of pounds - including my own personal contributions- for health-orientated charities over the years.

[Alexander Drake]

You're probably right, Michael - and like you I would love it if David Cameron thought he could speak like Howard without damaging himself electorally. I suspect some around Cameron, like Michael Gove, would also like it. But the reality is different. He can't - so he won't. And I don't blame DC.

[Michael McGowan]

Not just won't, Alexander, but probably never will....because he is in thrall to the Americophobic left.

[malcolm]

I'm sure Quadrant is an admirable magazine and John Howard is definitely a decent guy.Can't think why you think a speech in an obscure magazine would overshadow a speech from a man who will (I hope) be a future PM of this country.A case of wishful thinking Michael?
Monday Clubber your reaction to the Times story says far more about you than it does about George Osborne.

[Alexander Drake]

As far as I can tell, most of Britain is, Michael. : (

[Monday Clubber]

"Monday Clubber your reaction to the Times story says far more about you than it does about George Osborne."

A predictable response from Malcolm. So sorry we can't all share your fervent desire to be the #1 fan of the Dave/George twosome.

Seems the press don't share your sanguine view of this tastless remark. I suspect the people will take the same view.

Mrs Winterton was punished for making a similar joke. Time to show that George's (totally unwarranted) position doesn't entitle him to pull rank on her.

[Michael McGowan]

You may be right, Malcolm. I prefer politicians of substance who actually take principled stands on vital issues and deliver, as opposed to the offcuts of the PR industry. I thought you did too: after all, you loathe Blair more than I do!!

[christina speight]

Mark Fulford leaps to the defence of the indefensible as usual. He objects to my - - “goes via NHS because it suits him”.

He doesn't have to. He's so rich he can make the choice That is NOT deeply insulting for as MF: says " David and Samantha Cameron are lucky to have a financial choice"

This is precisely what I said and since you agree it must " say more about you than him"

He made the choice and it is HE that exploits his handicapped son in a sick-making apologia for the NHS. Just as Blair got into the Hammersmith hospital en route Chequers - Downing Street and was treated immediately when he had a heart murmur*, the administrators of whatever hospital the Camerons use (his local hospital St Mary's ???) will see a potential PM coming and give him top-level treatment.

*nb My husband has a heart murmur too - 10 weeks for HIM to see a doctor!! But then his name's not Cameron.

[ThePrince]

Richard, pre-1948 only some poor people had access to free healthcare but it was really patchy and it was for only some treatments.

[Mark Fulford]

He's so rich he can make the choice

Ah, Christina, I'm sorry, I thought you were attacking David Cameron. I hadn't realised that your “because it suits him” jibe was aimed at everyone who's financially able to pay for care if necessary (most home-owners).

[Richard]

"Seems the press don't share your sanguine view of this tastless remark. I suspect the people will take the same view."

I suspect the people don't give a damn.

[malcolm]

And because I loathe Blair Michael I want him out! I'm not foolish enough to think however,that I will get a replacement who has not had to make big compromises to get elected. But unlike you I don't think many of the compromises Cameron has made are necessarily bad anyway.
I could I suppose behave like Chad and campaign for an idealistic party whos only practical consequence will keep Blair and his cronies in power for the forseeable.I would rather not waste my time.

[christina speight]

Malcolm -"an idealistic party whos [sic] only practical consequence will keep Blair and his cronies in power"
The cronies maybe. But what does it matter when Cameron only offers more of the same. It's NO CHOICE BRITAIN and since there's no choice Labour might as well take the blame.

=-=-=-=-
Mark Fulford . I said (and you did too) that Cameron uses the NHS because it suits him and he has the money to pay forprivate medicine a hundred times over. But remembering Blair's education principles does he go to his local hospital or cherry pick because he has influence ??? I don't know the answer to that but since I don't trust a man who breaks his promises I would like to know.
=-=-=-=-
The Prince - In the 1920s / 30s my father, then a GP treated everyone who saw him or whom he visited without regard to their means. (the only benefit the private patients got was to use our living room as a waiting room!) The poor were "on the panel" and the panel paid a fee at a very low rate. The private patients paid much more, scaled unofficially according to what they could afford.

When he later became a consultant the hospital turned nobody away - the almoner used the funds raised by collections, flag days amd donations to square the books.

The same system couldn't work today in our pharmacologically based medicine because of its complexity and expense.

In short medicine has improved through science but patient welfare has regressed in many ways.

[TomTom]

The recent scandal of lack of adequate military medical care for injured soldiers is a case point,

George Hinton.........it was the Conservatives who closed the Military Hospitals. It was John major who was warned that he could not use the NHS to provide the Army with beds; it is now the NHS and TA which provides 80% Army medical staff.

If the British Army is despatched - it is NHS GPs and Surgeons who are seconded from hospitals and surgeries.......ask about how many man-hours the NHS loses when this happens

We have a shortage of doctors and hospital beds but it was the Conservatives who decided to sell of military hospitals to developers.............so George Hinton what were you doing back in 1990-1997 ?

[Mark Fulford]

Mark Fulford . I said (and you did too) that Cameron uses the NHS because it suits him and he has the money to pay for private medicine a hundred times over

Yes, but you seemed to be implying that it suits him politically, rather than stating the bleedin' obvious - that we each make the choices that suit us.

The fact that he has the money to go outside the NHS is not a reason to attack him. Very many people have exactly the same ability through both health insurance and / or a large amount of equity in their house. If cash were able to make a difference, I don't know any parents that wouldn't sell their house to save their child.

does he go to his local hospital or cherry pick because he has influence

Does David Cameron get preferential NHS treatment? I know a number of children who have needed life-saving treatment and, in every case, the NHS has been first class and the children have been treated by national experts. I also know a number of NHS employees who have been treated quite badly. My conclusion is that if the NHS can’t pull strings for its own, it’s very unlikely to do so for a politician. I think NHS culture is very simple: all children get a very high priority.

[Michael McGowan]

Malcolm, Blair is stepping down so you don't need to get him out. The oddity is that for someone who loathes Blair, you seem enamoured of an unctuous patrician Blair clone. Cameron will say literally anything, just like Osborne who makes the Vicar of Bray look like Sir Thomas More.

You are also taking refuge in that threadbare old Tory refrain: we have to say these things to win power. Let's win power and then it will all be different. Of course it never is. The Tories are the party who routinely promise what they have no intention of delivering and imply what they have no intention of promising. They bear as much responsibility as Labour for the waste and chaos in our schools and hospitals.

As for these compromises which Cameron has made which you allege I dislike, which ones are they? The only ones which I can think of are the compromises he has made which mean he has little to offer which Blair isn't offering. I assume you think these are a good thing? For the first time ever, I can actually see why it might make sense to vote Labour. I have to pinch myself as I say it but I actually distrust Brown less than Cameron.

[Monday Clubber]

"I actually distrust Brown less than Cameron."

Too true, Michael.

Apart from Dave's clique of fanatical followers, who doesn't?

[malcolm]

As I 've told you many times when we've met Michael I actually like the Conservative party that Cameron is creating and feel much more comfortable campaigning for the current party than I did at the 2005 GE.
But I make absolutely no apology for wanting power.The last 9 years have shown how useless being in opposition is.As George Osborne rightly said 'no Shadow Chancellor cut taxes' no shadow chancellor achieved anything!
It is very easy to mock everyone and everything in British politics and much harder to actually campaign for someone who you don't agree with 100%.My choice is to follow the latter route,what's yours?