Letter from Parliament - Jim Dobbin MP

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Jim Dobbin MP

It is becoming apparent to the public that the Coalition is out to destroy everything that can be described as public.  Their intention seems to be to cause chaos in our schools, chaos in our hospitals, chaos in our police services, chaos in our local communities and chaos in our prisons. Of course, this chaos will provide the opportunity for their private sector friends to swoop in and take over all the services.

Hiding all Government orchestrated chaos behind a meaningless “Big Society” agenda is designed to destroy the present system.  Very clever, don’t you think?  Even some senior Tories are beginning to criticise this strategy Norman Tebbit is already warning David Cameron that he is going too far.  There’s a shock.

Middle England is rising up against this tide of destruction and joining the Trade Unions and young people to fight Government cuts.  The middle classes and the working classes will join to counter the rise of the small band of elite millionaires who are now running the country for the benefit of another small band of wealthy individuals who intend to grab control of our public services for profit. Hospital and schools will go the same way as our prison service moving into the private sector.

We are now into April and the effect of the cuts will now begin to be felt by our young people, families, disabled and pensioners, the ones who are the most vulnerable.  Do not forget the VAT bombshell that is hitting our pockets as we see prices rise everywhere.  The local elections on 5 May will soon be upon us.  It will be an interesting period in the run up to polling day and could be the end for Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister who sometimes forgets he has responsibility to run our national affairs.  He will be hoping for victory in his referendum on AV.  I support the present system of “First past the post.” Only Australia and two other tiny countries have AV as their voting system and they are now regretting it.  AV is not a fair system and it is too complex and expensive.  Even Nick Clegg is on record as being against it but then he is noted for saying one thing and doing another. His future in politics will be in doubt after 5 May.

I met with the different National Health Service trade unions representing the different NHS professions at North Manchester General Hospital.  Nurses, scientists, radiographers, physiotherapists, porters, cleaners are all feeling threatened by the announcement of 1000 job losses within the Pennine Acute Health Trust.  So much for the Health Service being ring fenced.  What a con that statement was.  All the Trust MPs will be seeking a meeting with the Chairman and Chief Executive to discuss this threat to local services.

As Vice Chair of the North Korea All Party Group, I met with the Speaker of the Supreme Assembly in North Korea, together with Lord David Alton and Baroness Caroline Cox.  This meeting is an attempt to encourage better dialogue between North and South Korea and is worth pursuing. The talks were frank but courteous and they are a necessity to achieve peace in that region.

Nearer home I was guest speaker at the Regional Co-op Party Meeting in Salford Civic Centre where I gave my Parliamentary Report. On Friday (1 April 2011), I took part in an interview on a future programme on cowboy builders, which will be screened in the near future.  The interview took about 90 minutes and was a thoroughly enjoyable experience. 

I was invited to a celebration service in Westminster Abbey for my old friend Lord Alf Morris who was instrumental in introducing the Sick and Disabled Persons Act 1970.  It was the fortieth anniversary of the Act that has influenced disability legislation throughout the world.  Alf was a member of parliament for Wythenshawe.