http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardianpolitics/story/0,3605,500144,00.html
On the campaign trail today Election 2001
John Carvel and Patrick Wintour Saturday June 2, 2001 The Guardian
Labour's seemingly unstoppable election machine was rocked yesterday when it was caught off guard by Britain's 36,000 GPs, who threatened to tear up their NHS contracts if their workload is not reduced by April next year.
The British Medical Association released results of a ballot showing a clear majority of family doctors would consider submitting undated letters of resignation if the government did not agree "significant and acceptable" changes to their present contracts.
The proposal was supported by 86% on a turnout of 66%, showing 56% of the nation's GPs were prepared to back the tactic. However, their leaders failed to explain how they could implement the threat without harming patients.
Privately Labour was furious with the BMA over the timing of its ballot, designed to maximise embarrassment. The party was unaware the GPs' announcement would come just as it went into a final week's drive promising to put hospitals and schools first.
Labour avoided a public confrontation, but issued briefings showing how doctors' pay had risen by 15% in real terms in the past three years.
The result came as Unison, the public services union, prepared to debate a series of motions hostile to privatisation of public services at its conference. Similar revolts are expected at the Union of Communication Workers conference which is to be addressed by John Prescott on Sunday. Full Story: http://www.guardian.co.uk/guardianpolitics/story/0,3605,500144,00.html
----- Original Message ----- From: "Chris Burford" <cburford at gn.apc.org> To: <lbo-talk at lists.panix.com> Sent: Saturday, June 02, 2001 11:50 AM Subject: British Election [was Question to Chris ]
> At 02/06/01 09:55 -0300, you wrote:
>
> >Chris Burford wrote.
> >
> >
> > >No. A major internal success of the government has been to roll back
the
> > >Conservative government's fiction that the NHS can be run with an
"internal
> > >market". It has also largely socialised the independent providers of
health
> > >care, the general practitioners, in "primary care trusts" Although they
are
> > >threatening to resign en masse if they do not get better terms and
> > >conditions, they are shifting from being petty bourgeois independent
> > >professionals to being privileged workers in a complex socialised
economic
> > >system.
> >
> >-Do you have data on NHS budget in the "New Labour´s years"?
>
>
> No I don't. I get the impression that they put much less into the NHS than
> they claim they did.
>
_________________________________________________________ Do You Yahoo!? Get your free @yahoo.com address at http://mail.yahoo.com