UKIP says it doesn’t want to scrap the NHS – OH REALLY?

[Source: Confidential]

[Source: Confidential]

The Party of Free Speech – and its many minions, members and supporters – have been avid to tell us they do not intend any harm to our great National Health Service recently. This is odd, when you consider the ever-increasing number of candidates who will admit the exact opposite, behind closed doors.

Look at the image (above) – it is a Tweet from Samuel Fletcher, a UKIP council candidate in Keighley, and it seems very straightforward.

For more of Mr Fletcher’s wisdom (if you can call it that), take a look at this Huffington Post article from January.

If you’re thinking Mr Fletcher is out on his own, here’s Bradley Monk, a candidate for Winchester Eastgate in last year’s council elections, who tweeted at the time: “The welfare state is massively bloated. I’d scrap the NHS personally, but that is political suicide.”

He was right, because he didn’t get elected. Perhaps he should have stayed quiet about it, in the same way the Conservative Party hushed up its plans for the NHS before the 2010 General Election, when David Cameron warned Andrew Lansley not to speak about the plan to privatise the NHS that he had spent the previous six or seven years creating.

Cameron knew it was poison to the electorate.

Would you vote for UKIP, knowing these clowns are bad for your health?

Follow me on Twitter: @MidWalesMike

Join the Vox Political Facebook page.

Vox Political needs your help!
This independent blog’s only funding comes from readers’ contributions.
Without YOUR help, we cannot keep going.
You can make a one-off donation here:

Donate Button with Credit Cards

Alternatively, you can buy the first Vox Political book,
Strong Words and Hard Times
in either print or eBook format here:

SWAHTprint SWAHTeBook

33 Comments

  1. gingerblokeblog May 14, 2014 at 9:55 am - Reply

    Reblogged this on gingerblokeblog.

  2. Guy Ropes May 14, 2014 at 10:01 am - Reply

    Would you vote for UKIP ?…….or would you vote for ANY of the other 3 clown-fests who have already sat on their hands and done Sweet FA to save it, nay – enthusiastically shafted it. Which one gets our vote pray ?

    • Mike Sivier May 14, 2014 at 10:07 am - Reply

      In terms of the NHS? Labour gets mine – the party that has promised to reverse the privatisation that the Conservatives and Liberal Democrats have imposed.

      Go on – say you don’t believe that will happen. I’ll tell you that nobody thought the Tories would force the changes on us in the first place because they never mentioned it. Who’s the bigger liar – the person who hid their plan from you to get your support and then did what you didn’t want, or the person who has made a firm promise and hasn’t had a chance to carry it out yet?

      • peeve May 14, 2014 at 10:19 am - Reply

        Well said, Mike. It is one of the more tiresome aspects of UKIPpers’ support for their party that, rather than refute any argument against their bonkers policies, they just bleat, ‘none of the other parties is any better’.

      • bookmanwales May 14, 2014 at 10:28 am - Reply

        If I remember rightly it was New Labour who introduced the fatally flawed PFI and got the books in a mess in the first place Give away the infrastructure and rent it back at hugely inflated rates. Not only the NHS, but schools, Police stations, government buildings etc.
        Also if I remember rightly in 13 years New Labour (which in my eyes they still are) failed to repeal any anti union legislation, failed to rebuild our industrial base, failed to curb the banks, failed to control energy bills, water bills, rents,foreign takeovers or anything else vital to this country’s interests.
        Whilst I admire your support for the Labour Party their talk and their actions are two separate entities, one what they want us to think they will do and the other what they actually do.
        Their silence and inaction over the last 4 years cannot be wiped away with a few choice comments because election time has come around..
        Their handling of union ties again shows how they do not want to be associated with the working class any longer as it is not the vote they are chasing anymore.
        New Labour are still New Labour nohing has changed there.

        • Mike Sivier May 14, 2014 at 8:29 pm - Reply

          You remember wrongly; PFI was a Conservative idea, first implemented in 1992. New Labour (regrettably) continued it. I agree with you that PFI was a terrible idea, but if you want to say PFI got the books in a mess, then you should primarily blame the Tories for bringing it in.
          Your comment about anti-union legislation is not new; I was aware of this complaint. The response would be to question whether unions are in any way more willing to co-operate with government, to create the best results for everybody, or if they would return to the bad old ways of the late 1970s given half a chance. Perhaps the New Labour government feared the latter. The current Labour leadership has certainly enjoyed a rocky relationship with them, which is hardly conducive to handing freedoms back to them.
          The other criticisms of New Labour are also not new; the answer is that New Labour was a neoliberal organisation, which Margaret Thatcher claimed as her greatest achievement. It was not the party it should be. But that was Labour from 1994 to 2010. If Labour is not the party you think it should be, what have you done to improve it? Are you a Labour member? Are you an activist within your constituency party? Have you made efforts to change Labour from within (the only way change will happen)?
          These are the questions we must ask critics of the Labour Party. It is easy to criticise people from an armchair.
          Labour’s talk and actions are not separate at all; the Parliamentary party has done what it said it would do, ever since the last election. As this blog has made clear over the last few years, I think some of those actions were wrong, but the broad direction of travel is right.

          You say Labour has been silent and has not acted. In that you are either badly mistaken or trying to mislead. Please explain.

      • Stephen Bee May 14, 2014 at 11:05 am - Reply

        I hear what your saying Mike..but if the Tories pass the TTIP before leaving office, won’t that effectively STOP Labour or any party from reversing any and all privatisation plans that have already gone ahead before the 2015 election?

      • Pete Venner May 14, 2014 at 5:08 pm - Reply

        Very naive to think that the modern Labour party are any different to the Tories. They both work for the banking elite to achieve the same ends – Transfer of wealth from ordinary folk to the ultra-rich, including gradual dismantling of the NHS. Both parties have burdened the NHS with billions of ‘PFI’ debt and will continue to do so until the NHS is bankrupt. The 2-party system is just a game of ‘good cop, bad cop’. When it comes to actual policies the BNP bear (a lot) more resemblance to traditional Labour than the modern day Labour party do.

        • Mike Sivier May 14, 2014 at 8:49 pm - Reply

          This is not the first time I’ve seen someone say Labour works for a “banking elite” of some kind. Can you provide source material to back up this claim, Pete?
          Also, considering even New Labour’s efforts to keep poor people from going into debt, it seems your claim that they were transferring wealth to the ultra-rich fails the practical test.
          The BNP are far-right loonies; don’t try to make them look even slightly respectable.

      • Pete Venner May 16, 2014 at 11:31 am - Reply

        Don’t you think that the bank bailouts at least some fondness for the banks? As Guy says there should be no way back for any of the current cartel (and no way in for UKIP). It is quite obvious they are all playing for the same team. In their 13 years Labour never restored any power to the unions, they continued with PFIs, they started ‘workfare’ style programmes… I’m not sure which measures were meant to keep the poor from going into debt but they clearly failed.

        With regards to the BNP being ‘far right loonies’, they want to return publicly paid for railways/utilities to their rightful owners, opppose fighting [bankers] wars other than for defence, support rights for British workers, oppose the fraudulent system of modern capitalism, Support a fair welfare state for those in genuine need including workfare but importantly, the market rate would be paid for mandatory work, support animal welfare by banning ritual slaughter & factory farming… Which of those policies are ‘right wing’?

        • Mike Sivier May 16, 2014 at 11:59 am - Reply

          I think the bank bailouts showed some fondness for the ordinary people with bank accounts who would have been utterly ruined if the bank crash had been allowed to continue. Labour’s actions were about saving people’s savings.

          I see you are referring to the hymn sheet on Labour’s actions – all those comments about unions, PFIs, workfare have been done to death but people like yourself still go back to them.

          Your comments about the BNP indicate where your loyalties lie. Don’t spread your poison around here.

  3. oogenhand May 14, 2014 at 10:17 am - Reply

    Reblogged this on oogenhand and commented:
    Again, UKIP sucks. Push for a guaranteed minimum income.

  4. sdbast May 14, 2014 at 10:23 am - Reply

    Reblogged this on sdbast.

  5. Guy Ropes May 14, 2014 at 10:27 am - Reply

    I don’t see any enthusiasm on their part to reverse what is happening. In 2005 – long before the downturn – I identified in Southern England alone (purely from media reports) at least 7 NHS groups who were woefully in debt to the tune of millions each. This didn’t stop them – or in fairness anyone else – sitting back and watching useless managers getting sacked for total inefficiency, getting golden goodbyes to boot, and then moving on to the next NHS role in a different area and getting a golden handshake – 6 figures usually. Those groups never escaped the predicaments they were in. This is an effective policy? At that time the country was not in the desperate straits that it is now – it was largesse for the ladies and lads. And we are expected to give them another chance? This is why so many people in this Country are looking for alternatives. The LEGACY THREE are all liars and completely played out – in a world of fairness there should be no way back for any of ’em.

    • Mike Sivier May 14, 2014 at 8:18 pm - Reply

      Why not give them another chance? The Tories have had so many other chances it’s incredible – in the literal meaning of the word.
      Labour has spent the last few years consulting on what its policies should be; it is an organisation that wants to make the right choices for Britain.
      Can you say the same about any of the other parties (including UKIP, the Tory Democrats and the other minor players)?

  6. bookmanwales May 14, 2014 at 10:36 am - Reply

    I am not a UKIP supporter either by the way. Their policies make the Tories look like kindergarten bullies, UKIP are far more dangerous.

    Hopefully (but it is only a hope) the election next year will see many more MP’s elected from the minor parties such as TUSC or The Greens or even more independents, The three, sorry two, main parties need to know they are no longer the only choice and then, just maybe, they will realise what they have actually done to the people of this country

    • Mike Sivier May 14, 2014 at 8:30 pm - Reply

      No – the Tories are far more dangerous than UKIP because the Tories are more likely to win office again after the next general election.

  7. vicmart009 May 14, 2014 at 10:41 am - Reply

    Reblogged this on vicmart009 and commented:
    I love you Mike as one human being to another ! No more !

  8. beastrabban May 14, 2014 at 10:41 am - Reply

    Reblogged this on Beastrabban’s Weblog and commented:
    Yet more evidence that UKIP really does want to scrap the NHS and destroy any kind of welfare provision. What more proof do you need?

  9. nataliejaneg May 14, 2014 at 11:10 am - Reply

    Having seen the UKIP lead candidate for Scotland on Newsnight Scotland’s EU election debate on Monday night I would vote for one of the other parties even if I was a UKIP supporter. I don’t think I ever saw a more ignorant, aggressive and unpleasant character on a political debate. It is available on iplayer for the next few days and I urge anyone who is vaguely thinking of supporting UKIP to watch it through and see if you would be happy to have that man representing you and your interests.

  10. stewilko May 14, 2014 at 11:18 am - Reply

    Reblogged this on stewilko's Blog and commented:
    Awful and disgusting shower of sh**e. A conservative and UKIP alliance in government – I cringe with the thought. The NHS, both our welfare and education system all broken up or dissolved. A media controlled country where individuals are spoonfed information. Statistics and reports manipulated to illustrate positive facts. Hidden behind all this are lies, corruption and “destruction”. The poorest, disabled, unemployed and those forced into work robbed of their civil and human rights. What a “great” civilised nation we live in.

  11. Rob Spaced May 14, 2014 at 11:21 am - Reply

    There are more than 4 options and the voting is proportional so all votes count. But it seems, to use the words of a well known TV magician, not a lot of people know that.
    Also worth remembering Europe is not deciding the fate of the NHS so don’t cast a vote in the Euro elections based solely on issues that are determined by the UK government. Vote for the party you think will best represent the UK in European parliament, not the for a party that wants us out, because euro MPs have no power to make that decision.

    • Mike Sivier May 14, 2014 at 8:43 pm - Reply

      Rob, firstly you should know that there are local elections taking place on May 22 as well as the European poll.
      Also, are you really suggesting that voters should ignore each party’s policies? Everybody who casts a vote in the elections needs to know exactly what each party stands for, in both domestic and foreign policy. For one thing, if UKIP is right (for example), decisions made in Europe affect the UK far more than your comment suggests, and a party with influence there could seriously affect matters here.

  12. thoughtfullyprepping May 14, 2014 at 12:14 pm - Reply

    All this adds to the view that the only way to change anything is to take the whole darn system down. Personally I feel an annexation to Russia might work.

  13. Jonathan Wilson May 14, 2014 at 1:12 pm - Reply

    *waits for Barry Davies* to not repudiate the facts but post a question unrelated to the post and ignore any questions as to clarification… 5, 4, 3, 2, 1

  14. Mark May 14, 2014 at 2:37 pm - Reply

    I know they say you can’t judge them on it, but their vile 2010 manifesto (which represented their views then and they don’t seem to have changed much) included a flat tax of 31%.

    If they ever get anywhere near power, you better hope you aren’t poor, foreign, having a baby, or give a s**t about the environment.

  15. elizapdushku May 14, 2014 at 3:52 pm - Reply

    Reblogged this on elizapdushku's World.

  16. Thomas May 14, 2014 at 4:16 pm - Reply

    People are rightly crying out for change, so it’s upsetting that their votes are going to the far right UKIP instead of a left wing party that might make a difference.

    • GrumpyoldMan May 31, 2014 at 9:38 pm - Reply

      Left wing? ha ha The opening up of all health services to competition and the free market is an EU requirement my dear. Wake up from your childish slumbers.
      There is an ever-worsening crisis of funding in the NHS and even if we left the EU we would have to cut back its wastefulness hugely to stop ourselves slipping ever further into debt. The spending of the NHS has spiralled way out of control and it must be brought back down to earth. Make people pay for cosmetic surgery, weight-loss surgery, abortions, contraception, and treatment for foreigners on the NHS, Make sex-change treatments illegal. Cap the amount that the NHS can pay for any drug, and the pharmaceutical companies will have to come into line.

      • Mike Sivier May 31, 2014 at 9:46 pm - Reply

        Who told you it was an EU requirement? You shouldn’t listen to gossip!
        As for the crisis of funding: There would be no funding problem if we weren’t giving up so much of our taxpayers’ money to private healthcare companies as profit. This money pays for nothing at all and is therefore wasted.
        I leave the remainder of your comments for others to remark upon, should they desire it.

  17. Barry Davies May 14, 2014 at 5:52 pm - Reply

    UKIP is pro NHS anti HS2 I realise that 2 of the letters are the same so it is easy for people who only want to rant on about UKIP never bother to find out the real facts. Labour outsourced more NHS utilities than even the coalition has managed.

    • Mike Sivier May 14, 2014 at 8:50 pm - Reply

      We did find out the facts, Barry. You say what you like, but when there is documentary evidence in front of you that proves the opposite of what you’re claiming, I doubt you’ll get much credence.

Leave A Comment