Comment
Jeremy Hunt spent some 115 minutes closeted with Theresa May today. According to media sources such as Laura Kuenssberg, May intended to sack him and he ‘argued passionately’ for his job.
According to one Number 10 source, he cried.
In the end, May’s face-saving measure of allowing him to keep his job with an amended title, so she could avoid the admission that she spent almost two hours trying unsuccessfully to fire him, could be a disaster for our elderly and vulnerable.
By giving the most damaging Health Secretary in history an additional brief for social care, she has extended his reach – a reach that has only been disastrous for the NHS.
With social care already coming apart at the seams because of government cuts, the system does not have the resilience that the NHS had built up over years of Labour investment and will be unable to endure his mix of routine dishonesty, planned neglect and toxic arrogance.
That means an even more rapid and complete collapse, with a disastrous knock-on effect – again – for the NHS.
May’s inability to sack Hunt disgraces her and reveals – as did the rest of her ‘reshuffle’ – her abject weakness.
But, as usual with this most poisonous government, those who really suffer from their incompetence and malevolence are the vulnerable and the already hard-pressed.
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crocodile tears because he wouldn’t be able to sell off more of the NHS to his mates – scumbag
Let’s see him alienate the pensioners, their last remaining and dwindling voters.
Hunt at Health and Social Care and McVey at Work and Pensions…
There are no words to describe my fears for the future of many more millions in UK in the name of privatisation, austerity and the bogus ‘balancing the books’…
My heart sank when I heard that the Wicked Witch of the West was back at the DWP
Christ with Hunt now with Social Care and the Wicked Witch of the Wirral back, it’s only a matter of when not if when the gulags will be opening..
Hey Skwarkbox,
Hunt is always just a typo away from being told the real truth of what he is by the UK electorate.
There will be more deaths through austerity and the restriction, constriction and sanction of social security. The Tories have already created socio-economic conditions that have exacerbated homelessness, reduced disability payments through discrimination and spurious medical assessments, have increased suffering and levels of child poverty and generally destroyed infra-structures for the people. In essence fascist Tory politicians have deliberately designed policies that kill people. McVey will now continue in this vain with the law on DWP’s side and set about dismantling the Social Security system ever further. There will more deaths, more food-banks, more homelessness as new policies to restrict payments, new eligibility criteria making it impossible to get a fair award, and yet still the fecking DWP and the fecking government will carry on pissing and shitting all over people and enjoying their killing spree. No doubt senior managers at DWP will be Knighted and praised by the elite for the manner in which they have licked politician’s arses and done nothing to help the most vulnerable in life. The DWP and the Government are like whoring bed-fellows: they all play with each other’s ego, submit to avarice lies and deceit, and then the government leaves a ‘bonus’ on the side-cabinet to pay the top brass for ‘service’.
Come the glorious day there will many from the establishment who would much rather be hiding than face the public, or face a public enquiry and ‘death’ through the People’s courts and media channels. But they can’t hide forever.
Social Revolution is nigh! Power to The People! Namaste 🙂
DN
HUNT HAS AN AGENDA , THAT MAY ,WILL GO ALONG WITH AS SHE HAS NOW PROVEN HERSELF A COMPLETE LEMON.
HE WILL GO ALL OUT TO GET USA INVESTMENT OF BUILDING AND SUPPLYING A RANGE OF CARE HOMES AND A SYSTEM TO TAKE PEOPLE OUT OF HOSPITALS FOR AFTER CARE.
THIS WILL PROBABLY LINKED TO VAST MOVES OF PRIVATISATION OF MANY NHS DEPARTMENTS ( LINKED AS BRIBERY FOR THE CARE ELEMENT.).
HE WILL SINK THE NHS- BUT REALLY CONFORM TO TORY WISHES. ON TOP OF RE APPOINTMENT OF A PILLOCK TO DWP ( PROBABLY A DELIBERATE AIM TO CONTINUE TO SCREW PUBLIC OF POOR /LOW MEANS.)
REALLY MAY HAS PROVEN HERSELF TO BE A USELESS CLOWN FOLLOWING A NON DIRECTION EXCEPT THAT BY HER CONTROLLING PUPPETS. sHE COULD OF DONE BETTER IF SHE SACKED THE LOT AND WENT AND JUST TAKEN ( NOT SELECTED) 3O X 6TH YEAR PUPILS.
IN ONE WAY EU WILL BE CRYING WITH LAUGHTER INTO THEIR COFFEE , THE FACT SHE HAS PROVEN THAT SHE IS SO WEAK UNDERNEATH. SECONDLY EU WILL BE WORRIED SHITLESS THAT MAY WILL BE OUT BEFORE 2019 AS THERE APPEARS NO REAL WAY SHE CAN GOVERN.
i THOUGHT I WAS WATCHING AN EXTENDED LAUREL AND HARDY.
Yes and beware of Tory Neo-Liberal Accountable Care Organisations (ACOs) which are taken from the US model; these will be able to hand out NHS services to private companies! As the poem goes:
‘EDUCATION DIDN’T WANT BUSINESS.
AND HUNT WASN’T LEAVING YOU KNOW.
SO THEY BROUGHT IN ESTHER THE IMPALER.
NOW THE WHOLE TORY NEO-LIBERAL SHOWER MUST GO!’
Crying and begging to keep his job under the pretence of caring for the NHS and it’s patients has to be lowest this man has ever stooped.
As impossible as that seems he’s managed to sink to an all time low here.
I’m beginning to move to the position whereby I think that a number of firing squads, duly convened in a lawful manner of course, is the only way to get rid of these whimpering Tory bullies! They make me sick!
How many thousands of poor souls have lost their
lives under this govt ?
We’re doomed, doomed!!
May has moved to the right nasties from her past promoted
The fact that in the Tory re-shuffle many ministers who were seen a tainted (or indeed, toxic) and needed moving pronto, ended up staying, is nowhere better exemplified than in the case of Jeremy Hunt.
Destined to be sent somewhere where he could do no more harm, he not only remained as Health Secretary, but managed to get “social care” added to his portfolio.
Now this may be something or nothing. The ”nothing” commentators, including past health ministers may be right. It may be that all that has happened here was a decision which incurred a few thousand pounds on reprinting letterheads and the brass plate for the office front door – especially as spending for Social Care still remains with the Department for Communities and Local Government.
The “something” side has resonance. It is clear that Hunt both refused to go, but also got this new power. And as a politician passionately involved with social care, this worries me. Hunt is clearly an advocate for the stepping up the pressure on the NHS via what is called ‘The Four Year Plan: which spawned the cost cutting and regionally based “Sustainability and Transformation Plans” (STP’s).
These Plans in turn were the midwife for the so-called “Accountable Care Organisations”: (ACO’s) which looked to be vehicles for taking social care out of the democratic control of elected local councils.
Above all the fact that these new structures were in a sense ‘outside’ of the NHS and, potentially, local government, led many (including me) to fear that these were bodies suitable for privatisation – and there would be no shortage of bidders – most notably the US Healthcare corporations which have a uncannily strong resemblance to the projected Accountable Care Organisations.
Is it possible that all the visits by Hunt, NHS boss Simon Stevens and other ministers to the States have paid off ?
Have difficulty believing the tears from such a cocky barsteward, though I do believe he dearly wants to finish what he’s started! Unlike most on here I believe there is massive synergy in managing NHS and accommodation for the old and infirm together – a very clear no brainer which would lend to the NHS the flexibility to effectively manage the “bed-blocking” and the accommodation and staff resources involved. Intelligent, empathetic involvement of the close family of old and infirm could also pay dividends, provided idiotic application of H&S by pc ignorami can be trained.