BBC News - Clegg: Lords changes won't weaken MPs

BBC News - Clegg: Lords changes won't weaken MPs:

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BBC News - House Lords reform - part of Lib Dem DNA says Campbell

BBC News - House Lords reform - part of Lib Dem DNA says Campbell:

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Health groups: for or against the NHS Bill?

NB - the 'summit' was a Downing Street meeting between the PM, Lansley and certain health related organisations (see below).


From the Guardian Feb 21 2012

Against the bill(None of these organisations were invited to the Downing Street summit)
British Medical Association
Cautiously welcomed the July 2010 white paper which set out the coalition's NHS plans. As concern grew, it adopted a policy of "critical engagement": lobbying ministers to amend or drop proposals it deemed too risky, damaging or ill thought-through. But rising anger among grassroots doctors, and deep frustration that Lansley did not really heed their concerns, prompted BMA last November to adopt policy of all-out opposition.
Royal College of Midwives, Royal College of Nursing and Royal College of GPs
Recently made the same switch as BMA, and, after initially seeking major amendments to it, now want the bill scrapped, which is also Labour's position.
Chartered Society of Physiotherapy
Concerned that letting non-NHS providers start treating NHS patients, paid for out of NHS funds, will see patients denied physiotherapy sessions they need through the opening up of more NHS services to outside bodies through the "any qualified provider" policy.
Royal College of Pathologists
Concerned aboutcurrent and future impact of the combination of the changes this bill brings, the current "manner and pace of reconfiguration of services, including managerial, and the arbitrary removal of 20% from NHS spending on pathology services".
Royal College of Radiologists
Has "grave concerns" about "many serious and as yet unresolved issues", including the risk that the shake-up will widen health inequalities between richer and poorer patients. It is also "alarmed that the dangers of unfettered competition as outlined in the bill will adversely affect integrated care in both clinical oncology and clinical radiology".
Royal College of Psychiatrists
"Believes the bill is fundamentally flawed and "will not improve the health and care of people with mental illness", said Professor Sue Bailey, its president.
Unite and Unison
Fear the extension of competition in the NHS, and anticipated greater use of private healthcare firms to provide NHS services, will lead to the break-up and privatisation of the NHS.


Undecided(All were invited to the summit)
Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health
Obtained some concessions but still has "grave reservations that the bill carries risks for England's 11 million children and young people". "Opposition to the bill among some paediatricians is increasingly hardening", according to president Professor Terence Stephenson. The results of a survey of its members are due later this week.
Royal College of Physicians
Its emergency general meeting next Monday could see it switch from being critical of the bill on some issues – such as competition and raising the amount hospitals can earn from private patients – to a more hardline stance.
Royal College of Surgeons
The one medical royal college to refuse to sign a strongly-worded joint statement, organised by the Academy of Medical Royal Colleges last month, saying the bill was unfit for purpose in its current form. It denies it actively supports the bill.
Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists
Agreed to support last month's joint statement but later withdrew its support, after being lobbied by Lansley. "We have never said we fully support the bill. Instead we have always stated that we have concerns with elements of the bill which we have tried to address through the NHS listening exercise and meetings with the Department of Health and politicians," said president Dr Tony Falconer.
For the bill
(All were invited to the summit.)
National Association of Primary Care
Group of entrepreneurial GPs that has supported Lansley's plan from the start. It welcomes family doctors gaining control of £60bn worth of contracts to GP-led clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to spend as they see fit on treatment.
NHS Alliance
Has embraced the NHS shake-up, though recently voiced fears that CCGs' independence could be threatened by the new NHS national commissioning board.
Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations
Chief executive Stephen Bubb is a keen advocate of extending competition in the NHS in order to drive up standards and reduce costs.

For the bill(All were invited to the summit.)
National Association of Primary Care
Group of entrepreneurial GPs that has supported Lansley's plan from the start. It welcomes family doctors gaining control of £60bn worth of contracts to GP-led clinical commissioning groups (CCGs) to spend as they see fit on treatment.
NHS Alliance
Has embraced the NHS shake-up, though recently voiced fears that CCGs' independence could be threatened by the new NHS national commissioning board.
Association of Chief Executives of Voluntary Organisations
Chief executive Stephen Bubb is a keen advocate of extending competition in the NHS in order to drive up standards and reduce costs.

How many rebellions has the coalition had to face?

http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/the-staggers/2011/02/coalition-mps-rebellions-votes

Resurgence of the importance of Parliament?

.....from the Spectator

In historical terms, though, the most important recent parliamentary vote was on the EU referendum motion. At first glance, this seems odd. It was a non-binding backbench measure, and it did not pass — indeed, it never had a chance of doing so, given that both Labour and the government were opposed. But when 81 Tory MPs defied a three-line whip and voted for it, their actions changed the calculus in No. 10 about how to handle the European issue. It was this new approach that led to Cameron vetoing a proposed EU treaty back in December.

Several factors have combined to breathe new life into parliament. First, no party has a majority in either house. When Ed Miliband was wandering the streets of Davos debating whether to force a Commons vote on Hester’s bonus, he knew that the motion would have a good chance of gaining the support of the Liberal Democrats, splitting the coalition and giving Labour a chance of victory.

Then there is the creative destruction wreaked by the expenses scandal. At the last election, the scandal contributed to a huge turnover of MPs. Those who arrived in 2010 are acutely sensitive to the charge that they are just as bad as the last lot. In general, therefore, they are more independent-minded than their predecessors. Forty-seven per cent of the Tory MPs elected in 2010 have already rebelled. Nor did the members who survived the expenses scandal remain unchanged. When the public think the letters MP after your name are a mark of dishonour, there is no longer any point in staying in Parliament for the prestige; even for veteran parliamentarians, status now means you have to achieve something. The breakneck pace of the new government’s first months in office owed much to this new mood.

But perhaps the most important reason for the revival of Parliament is that the politicians themselves have begun to appreciate it again. For years, the trendy notion that Britain was a ‘young country’ led to ambitious types turning their noses up at Parliament and its traditions. One senses now a greater understanding of its place in the constitution.

The next session will see an intense debate about Parliament’s role and the balance between its two chambers. The coalition intends to make the House of Lords 20 per cent elected, with more elected members in the coming years if Parliament wishes it. Already, other items in the government’s legislative plans are being scrapped or delayed to clear the necessary parliamentary time for this bill.

On this issue the executive can confidently expect an extremely hard time from the legislature. We might not find a 21st-century version of the Enoch Powell–Michael Foot double act that defeated Dick Crossman’s plans for Lords reform. But we will see MPs defending the rights and prerogatives of the Commons with far more vigour and conviction than they would have had just a few short years ago.

James Forsyth |