Keir Starmer recruits Blair alumni | Andrew Marr | The New Statesman

[@MartynThomas1]

@4:42 "Patient satisfaction is the lowest it's ever been, when Labour left office in 2010 it was the highest it's ever been." My takeaway from this is that no matter how badly Labour manage the NHS, they will still do a MUCH, MUCH better job than the Tories. The Tories are ideologically devoted to the destruction of the NHS as a matter of principle. They want the NHS replaced with a USA style insurance system.

[@captaintorch983]

Let's hope that this disastrous government puts money into mental health. Their deluded followers commenting here need urgent help.

[@MartynThomas1]

@@captaintorch983 We already know that this government has done more to address the Mental Health Crisis in its first 14 weeks that the Tories did in 14 years. The only thing the Tories did was harm.

[@csharpe5787]

Isn’t it ridiculous? They’ve said they’re not gonna name and shame schools any longer though they’ve just decided to start on the NHS.

[@ET76001]

You cant manage that you cant measure. League tables help in any case where natural attitude to betterment is lacking. Noone wants to be at the bottom of the league so the attitude will shift. Simples. It wont solve everything but there will be a lot of betterment locally if table is published

[@chrisdickens4268]

​@@ET76001study the history of school league tables, what you say is true except when they're made public

[@stephenmullan321]

@ET76001 As a healthcare professional this comment is as uneducated as Wes streeting running a socialised health system. “Premier league” style tables only serve to dishearten an already battered workforce. Too many variables to even give them any credence…Oz looks more tempting by the hour, I despair for this country sometimes

[@nicksimmons7234]

They change the one word school definition. Maybe stop being idiotic.

[@sonasp1961]

People who are shaming this proposal have no idea about the misconduct that goes on at high levels in the NHS. Managers getting paid a very big packet, for doing little to nothing and then when something goes wrong, putting blame on the workforce that they know nothing about, because they don't come down from their offices to see how things works on the ground! This is not a bad idea, at least Labour are trying. If the Conservatives and reform had their way, we would be private by now and these ineffective managers would be paid more.

[@boredphysicist]

Im still undecided on it, but I do think the comparisons with schools are silly. Schools dont have easy metrics to judge them by, for instance schools in poor areas tend to produce worse grades, but that doesnt mean the schools run badly. Also schools dont have management staff earning hundreds of thousands of pounds despite institutional issues like lack of modernisation and tonnes of bad debt Likewise once you send your child to school its sometimes 10+ years until they leave, ontop of that its done by catchment. So the choice isnt there like there is with hospitals (I used to pick which hospital to go to based on what was closest on the bus)

[@VinceLammas]

Streeting's performance on Radio 4 announcing the new performance regime was quite good and the thrust echoes the conclusions of the Darzi report. I think Labour has a good focus on improving leadership and local capability plus reductions of the centralised offices of control that now just seem anachronistic alongside Integrated Care Boards. It's true that league tables for "consumer advice" are not especially helpful in Health and Care settings but performance targets and measurement are used all the time in NHS organisations. If they are used to focus attention on leadership capability and strategic behaviour, it's a good thing.

[@totalvoid6234]

Wes Streeting is a friend of the health service in the same way a lion is a friend to a zebra. He's a friend (or lackey) to private finance vultures.

[@annishilcock4587]

Ah yes..a disciple of the religion of the NHS.

[@AlanLambert]

Its the Circle of Life 🙂

[@chrisdickens4268]

​​​@@annishilcock4587 nah see there's logical arguments for public provision of healthcare, but also there're idiots that would rather think of a "witty" (highly subjective) line than actually use their brains to explain their own opinions, not that I'm saying you have one since your clearly repeating "thoughts" that have been implanted by the worst think-tanks! Please please stop voting

[@annishilcock4587]

@@chrisdickens4268 One could ask what the dickens chris? Please please stop trying to be clever. It's embarrassing

[@chrisdickens4268]

​​@annishilcock4587 your're going to say that after using that trope?! have you no shame? Or do you just not understand the concept? Which would make sense since nothing I said was trying to be clever, just pointing out that your comment lacks any intelligence, thought or actual observations. Cheers for the confirmation. It's weird how you throw it about in a comment but can't take it - guess that's the lack of thought again!

[@JSK010]

@2:02 "for the vast majority of people you dont decide where you go to hospital" Actually just across the channel, we (in the netherlands) have public rankings for hospitals. People do change their behavior based on these, because the vast majority of hospital visits are *not* life threatening emergencies (at least not here). Its always "interesting" how Andrew Marr is so confident in his sweeping statements. Usually I have no knowledge about what he's talking about so I'll take his word, but increasingly i suspect that he (like most legacy media journalists) is a (small) emperor with no clothes.

[@jd_mav]

Good for you, not in the UK, where this video is even relevant? Nobody cares if YOUR ambulance takes you where you want, if they don’t in the NHS.

[@JSK010]

@@jd_mav most hospital visits arent by ambulance, not even in the UK. think of pregnant women, ppl with chronic diseases, etc. Even the NHS treats those right.

[@DavidManser]

​@@JSK010 Cool - my wife had 2 choices of hospital when she was pregnant to give birth. Whilst when scheduled an endoscopy it was 1 If all hospitals have equal levels of service and equipment then a choice might be meaningful, but often in the UK it's 1 or effectively none and a league table is unlikely to change that.

[@JSK010]

@ doesn’t the having a choice make most sense when the levels of service are unequal?

[@AlanLambert]

ha ha. Spot on Son, Spot on.

[@georgethompson453]

Bringing back Milburn makes it look like Streeting didn’t have a plan either. The management structure of the NHS is not fit for purpose but who is really brave enough to deal with it.

[@ohboyz222]

If he did have a plan we would surely have had a sense by now of what it might be. Instead, we've had the Dazi report followed by inaction followed by bringing Milburn back, and hey presto! an announcement; recycling an old idea.

[@lee2749]

It’s a brilliant appointment

[@nicksimmons7234]

Great point I mean the NHS is so fucked Streeting should be able to fix it myself in a couple of years. As normal people on the left kicking itself.

[@michaelwhite8031]

Will we ever be able to shake off Blair !?

[@199019852007]

Not for at least thirty years or until he meets his maker which won’t be until 2060s

[@dh1380]

No because he was kinda good

[@kebabylon]

yes when he's indicated at the hague

[@ณภัทรสุขแสง]

Hope not, because if you were taking notice under Blair and Brown the UK had the best economy in Europe for 10 years straight.

[@michaelwhite8031]

@ณภัทรสุขแสง maybe but no morals.

[@AlanLambert]

Unions never want to have the performance of their members assessed, let alone league tabled. If users dont have a metric to judge performance how can they judge if the service is well run.

[@peterwright5311]

Tell me about all the private industries that let some 'independent' body come in and assess their performance to stick them on a league table.

[@emmaeltringham91]

Because it doesn't work. Staff get protective and only do what it takes to get a good mark, so innovation struggles. They tried performance rating in the private sector and it lasted a year or two at most before it was dropped as a strategy.

[@Well_She]

Could someone explain the ins & outs of the voluntary grassroots levy please?

[@kraygus]

The dour pragmatism offered by Stamer is a solid counter for screeching populism. But we have to understand that they both tack in the same direction.

[@khar12d8]

The issue is while the NHS is getting more funding you still have essentially "austerity" in many other parts of the public realm and we're all paying more tax, too. Younger people don't benefit from a better NHS so much because they don't use it very often, it's pensioners that see the benefits more. But a big part of Labour's vote was middle aged people, 30s and 40s. Two thirds of pensioners voted either Tory or Reform. So the danger is many of Labour's voters don't feel much better off in 4 years.

[@JSK010]

Agree however the UK health care system has gotten so bad that it actually starts to impact productivity. NHS investments arent merely consumption but can also improve the economy. Whether the (Labour) voter will attribute higher incomes, lower prices to the NHS is a different story.

[@glostergloster6945]

@@JSK010 Workers being able to get a GP appointment would help. Much of the NHS problems start with GPs.

[@ArtSmart91]

@@glostergloster6945workers tend to not need to use the NHS very often. I went to A&E and was horrified by how long it took to be seen and the state of my local hospital but it’s not going to affect who I vote for at the next election

[@boredphysicist]

Except the NHS is the largest employer in the UK, likewise until the NHS controls policy less its very hard to focus on other issue because pensioners have this country in a choke hold.

[@annishilcock4587]

Was this recorded before it the fall in the NHS waitng lists?

[@stevenwilliamson6236]

Most people go to the closest school too.

[@JSK010]

not in my country (Netherlands). probably different system (dont know much about UK education), but just saying

[@KeithBrighouse-r3k]

@@JSK010 The Netherlands have an integrated transport system that more or less covers the whole country. In some parts of England, you are lucky to have a milk bus to the next town, unless you live in London and the Home Counties.

[@JSK010]

@@KeithBrighouse-r3k The greater london area has about half the of the population as the netherlands, and is more densely populated. We also have parts of the country - north east, south east, south west - that are poorly served by (public) transport. on average the UK has a similar population density as NLD.

[@bg1616]

We do get change, it gets worse.

[@tonywilcock6334]

I'm a Labour voter and am beginning to think of this government as a dead duck already . Appointing Blairites is a retrograde step to me.

[@user-gu1un7pb7k]

Why is it a retrograde step though? Blair's government was the most successful of the last 40 years, whether we like him or not

[@tonywilcock6334]

@user-gu1un7pb7k old ideas old problems .The "advisor" who was saying that he would do to the Farmers what Thatcher did to the miners didn't really help , and I'm starting to find Alistair C tiresome to put it mildly.

[@DylanSargesson]

Because why would we appoint people who we know were successful? Whatever else you might think of the New Labour years (Iraq etc.), the NHS was miles better back then than it is today. Alan Milburn obviously has a valuable contribution to make to bringing the NHS back up to scratch.

[@captaintorch983]

"beginning to think?" It was finished three months ago.

[@dbunik44]

Tony Blair?...we're talking about George Bush's former lapdog aren't we?

[@csharpe5787]

Do you really think there’s a choice of why you sent your child? And God forbid your child’s on theSEND register.

[@jmiller7209]

As a Reform voter I would happily vote Labour if they bring migration down significantly. I doubt they have the political will to without a consensus shift in government that the current type of migration is harming public finances rather than helping it. I imagine Labour, like the Tories will instead solely focus on illegal migration and have a useless symbolic policy to pretend they are protecting the borders. (Tories case was the Rwanda scheme they never did, Labour's case will probably be the 'Smash the gangs' nonsense).

[@heremyjunt]

Net Migration is projected to fall sharply due to curbs on dependent visas, and the raising of the skilled worker salary requirement to 38k among other things. There's a good chance it ends up going from 700k to 150-200k within a year, you can see on the Gov website how much visa applications have fallen. I see Labour have also increased deportations of illegal immigrants, theyve done about 10,000 since getting in. You can't really accuse them of not taking immigration seriously, after all its in their best interests to do so

[@trashman1358]

20 years have passed. Nothing has changed. Everything is still broken, just worse. This government system we've got? It goes round and round and round and round and all that happens is it gets worse. This system isn't fit for 2024. It's broken. We need to change it.

[@frankbrennan1619]

But for sure it will be irrevocably changed after the 2029 General Election...

[@colbr6733]

A number of the current problems (worldwide migration, economic disparity, political uncertainty) require entirely new ideas to resolve them, none of the ideas from any of the political parties really tackle them. Fresh thinking is required but we simply see rehashed old ones coming out of the political and academic environments. Regardless of technical progress the level of investment in AI is going to create huge change in the next 5 years. I don't envy the political class as we will be running just to stand still.

[@briandelaney9710]

The whole Peter Mandelson “phenomenon “is utterly disgusting. A glorified spin dr

[@nl5828]

aka jeffrey epstein’s belt shopping buddy!

[@ohboyz222]

The problem is that the NHS will gobble up every penny it is given and more. Politicians are too afraid of the voters and their beloved NHS to talk seriously about the funding problem. They should really be talking about radical hospital reforms and funding reform to a more European model whereby routine treatment is undertaken by the private sector and more complex treatment, such as cancer, is done by the public sector. Funding should be from taxation and a form of modest personal health insurance, not the U.S. system of healthcare.

[@caversmill]

"one of the perineal difficulties"?!

[@JamesDevereuxWebber]

It’s incredibly telling that Marr thinks parents can choose where to send their children to school. That might be true in Pimlico but otherwise an insanely out of touch comment.

[@firstlast-tf3fq]

Seems as though you’re assuming what Elon Musk is going to do isn’t going to be a complete clusterfuck 😂

[@robertsmith9810]

probably scraping the barrel ,no mates Starmer when i grew up people was to busy to keep talking Andrew

[@paulbird3235]

We don't need league tables, we need better performance.

[@ET76001]

🤦🏼‍♀️🤣

[@DylanSargesson]

If we're going to route out inefficiencies, poorly performing managers etc, we need to know where those failings are. So you make the league table. See what the higher ranked hospitals are doing differently, and then spread that information to the hospitals that are doing worse.

[@paulbird3235]

@@DylanSargesson Too much theory and not enough graft!.

[@nl5828]

having worked in the nhs in the mid-2000s, i can tell you that there was an obsession with those league tables and targets from certain people within nhs trusts, in many cases at the expense of individual patient care.

[@DaraM73]

Another public private partnership

[@daraorourke5798]

Alan Milburn ....wtaf. I give up

[@mishapurser4439]

Starmer is soft left? What planet are you on mate?

[@AlanLambert]

Think of League Tables as equivalent to a share price. Its a measure of competance and success.

[@bensealey462]

Your spelling is incompetent. Are you bottom of the league?

[@turbolevo8703]

Wrong.

[@AlanLambert]

@@bensealey462 is that your best shot? a typo?

[@AlanLambert]

@@turbolevo8703 How would you measure success or failure of a public service in a way that is not susceptible to political interference?

[@nicksimmons7234]

Labour don’t need enemies like the Mail, Torygraph, Sky, BBC when they’re getting a kicking from New Statesman. Maybe try reporting on all the good Labour are doing not gossip in Westminster. Shockingly bad journalism.

[@nl5828]

“all the good Labour are doing” that’s funny! 🤣🤣🤣🤣

[@karlyoung6289]

Forget welfare cuts, let's have a one-off wealth tax!

[@HarleyButler-ox3qn]

You should all get proper jobs

[@danydany3974]

Starmer will not last 5 years.

[@tomsmith6882]

He’s not recruiting blairites, he’s recruiting people-who-aren’t-Tories-but-have-been-in-actual-government-because-we-are-well-out-of-our-depth. And it’s either Blairite, or ppl from the 70s

[@DylanSargesson]

Exactly. Why wouldn't we want somebody like Alan Milburn on the team? He has actual experience of running a Government Department, which basically nobody in the actual Cabinet does (because Labour have been in opposition for so long).

[@nl5828]

“people-who-aren’t-Tories” that’s funny! 🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣 #RedTories

[@glostergloster6945]

The govt shouldnt just hand over billions to the NHS without knowing where the money is going and what it is going to be used for. League tables dont solve that problem.

[@hawklord100]

Pragmatic, commonsence and not dewey eyed wrist wringers fighting US woke wars... ideas people from the most succesful labour goverment in history, it can't go wrong can it ?

[@dh1380]

I wish i could post the spongebob nobody cares meme

[@stevenwilliamson6236]

£30bn a year wasted on NI. Easy win.