Blog
A Labour Party Policy (at last!)
24th April 2013
Answering AS Exam questions on the 3 main parties means you need examples of their policies - ideally CURRENT ones, not those dating back to Blair and Thatcher! Ed Miliband made an importantat speech yesterday and announced A NEW POLICY!
Party Policy & Ideas – A Labour Policy breaks cover - Useful example for AS/A2 Exams
Giving examples of current Labour Policy isn’t easy as Ed Miliband has been keen to avoid
commitments which the Tories could later use against him (for example, on the grounds
of being too expensive)
However, he made a commitment yesterday to hold an Independent Commission to look at re-organising
the NHS - effectively backing the idea.
What does this mean?
The key idea is that the NHS and social care should be merged. Social care, looking
after those in society (mainly the elderly) who have long term chronic health
problems (but might not be in immediate medical danger and so don’t need to be
in hospital) and who need help with day to day living as a result, is currently
organised and funded by local councils. With an ageing population it’s a huge
and increasingly expensive area.
It is argued that combining the two makes sense as the health and care needs of a
patient are connected and care needs to be given as effectively (and cheaply)
as possible.
Details here:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/society/2013/apr/22/miliband-integration-health-social-care-nhs
Mary Riddell (a left of centre columnist on the D Tel) broadens out the background to Labour policy discussions & suggests what Labour should do faced with the challenge of less £ as they plan the 2015 GE election campaign & their plans for government.
@politicsastar