Two days in the life of the Tory Boys

On Tuesday the NHS Bill crawled over its final hurdle. As Mark Steel put it, “At last this bill has been passed, to enable our Health Service, the envy of the world, to become more like the American system, universally derided as a chaotic disaster. Now they can introduce bills to make our ferry service more like the one in Italy, and our record on child abuse more like the Vatican's. It takes inventive thinking to hear that in the US, drugs companies spend twice as much on advertising as they do on research, and say, "That's MARVELLOUS, why can't WE do that?" Because instead of expensive anaesthetics and medicines, which no one can be sure make a difference, there's nothing like a cheery advert with a smiley  to ease away your leukaemia and get you running about.

 One of the strange facts to emerge is that nearly all the medical side of the NHS has opposed it, but those who stand to make money out of it have supported it. Isn't it strange, these statistical quirks that no one can explain? 

No wonder ministers banged their fists on the table as the bill was passed. They can't believe they're getting away with this stuff.” Independent 21/3/12

On Wednesday it was time for the much-leaked budget. Despite all the preparation the Treasury are reported to be shocked at the negative coverage it has had. An extract from the Leader in the Herald gives a clue.

“Coalition ministers sought to portray this as a "Robin Hood Budget" that would sting the rich and help "hard-pressed families", at the same time as softening up the public for the abolition of the 50p top tax rate.

Instead, it merely served to emphasise the central contradiction of this Government's political philosophy: the premise that the rich will only work harder if they are made richer while the poor will only work harder if they are made poorer. This will be remembered as the Budget that handed a £40,000 tax cut to millionaires, while imposing a stealth tax on hard-up pensioners and flagging up £10bn extra cuts in benefits. For the Government's critics, the most delicious moment of the day was Ed Miliband's invitation to the Government front bench to raise their hands if they had just been handed a big tax cut. (Even after Chris Huhne's unscheduled departure, the cabinet contains more than a score of millionaires.)” Herald 22/3/12

“This budgets gives tax cuts to the top 1% while the squeezed middle lose thousands in tax credits and the minimum wage fall in real terms.” ibid

The Tory Boys did have the grace to look abashed at Miliband’s attack but they are a pretty thick-skinned bunch. Any lingering misgivings will be swiftly washed away by copious amounts of champers. 

The airwaves today have been full of Tory Boys sliming their lies. As they lie, lie and lie again remember the NHS and “No Top Down Re-organisation.” 

We cannot trust a word these bastards say.