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Tag Archives: James Naughtie

Hunt’s hypocrisy on NHS anniversary

05 Friday Jul 2013

Posted by Mike Sivier in Conservative Party, Health, Politics, UK

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

65, anniversary, Coalition, Conservative, Direct Democracy, elderly, government, health, hypocrisy, Iain Duncan Smith, James Naughtie, Jeremy Hunt, LieDS, Mike Sivier, mikesivier, national, NHS, people, politics, secretary, service, sick, Tories, Tory, Vox Political, vulnerable


A time for silence: If Jeremy Hunt opens his mouth again, no doubt his own foot will go flying into it and he will need the help of NHS surgeons to remove it - if any can be bothered. Apparently they had enough trouble removing his head from David Cameron.

A time for silence: If Jeremy Hunt opens his mouth again, no doubt his own foot will go flying into it and he will need the help of NHS surgeons to remove it – if any can be bothered. Apparently they had enough trouble removing his head from David Cameron.

Hypocrisy, your name is… still Iain Duncan Smith, in fact. He doesn’t get off the hook just because Jeremy C… Hunt has put his foot in his mouth.

Hunt does appear to be challenging LieDS for his crown, however.

For those who aren’t aware: Back in 2005, the now-Health Secretary co-authored a miserable little screed calling itself Direct Democracy, in which he made clear some of his opinions about the National Health Service which was – at the time – getting some of the highest satisfaction ratings it had ever enjoyed.

Let’s compare some of the things he had to say today, celebrating the health service’s 65th anniversary, and in the book.

Today, he said: “In 65 years, the NHS has quite simply done more to improve people’s lives that any other institution in our history, and its equity and excellence make us the envy of the world.”

In his book, he wrote: “The NHS was designed over half a century ago, at a time of rationing and deep poverty. It was, and remains, a child of its time” [page 76] … “A 1940s monopolistic structure is no longer relevant in the 21st century” [page 80].

He said: “Today we express our thanks to the millions of hard-working NHS staff who literally save lives round the clock. We owe them a huge debt of gratitude.”

In his book, he wrote that it was “a fundamentally broken machine” [page 80].

Today, he announced changes for the vulnerable and elderly, adding: “this is only the starting point of a much broader transformation in ‘out of hospital’ care – one which will help every single patient and make sure the NHS stays true to the values that underpinned its founding in 1948”.

In his book, he wrote: “We should fund patients, either through the tax system or by way of universal insurance, to purchase health care from the provider of their choice” [page 76] … “our ambition should be … denationalising the provision of health care in Britain” [page 78].

Today he said; “I believe the NHS once again has the opportunity to steal a march on other healthcare systems and turn heads by the scale of its ambition – just as in 1948.”

In his book, he wrote: “They are told that record investment has transformed the NHS; but their hospital seems as grimy as ever” [page 31].

What a load of hypocritical flannel.

I’m fed up of these Tory wet-wipes trying to wash away what they’ve done in the past and thinking we won’t notice. James Naughtie had Hunt pegged when he came up with that profane nickname for him.

The Health Secretary continues to live down to that nickname, every day of his life.

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Hapless Jeremy proves yet again what a… Hunt he is

18 Thursday Oct 2012

Posted by Mike Sivier in Conservative Party, Humour, Politics, UK

≈ Comments Off on Hapless Jeremy proves yet again what a… Hunt he is

Tags

"Who are you?", 2012 Olympics, BBC, bell-end, Borat, Buckingham Palace, Conservative, Culture, Culture Secretary, Diamond Jubilee, Duke of Edinburgh, government, health, Health Secretary, Her Majesty, James Naughtie, Jeremy Hunt, Mike Sivier, mikesivier, Mr Bean, News Corporation, News International, Olympics, Parliament, people, politics, Queen, Radio 4, Rupert Murdoch, Secretary of State, Today programme, Tories, Tory, tree, Vox Political


Not the right kind of tree-hugger: This is an artist’s impression of what Jeremy Hunt looked like, hiding behind a tree to avoid being seen going to a meeting with Rupert Murdoch.

It is not a good time to be Jeremy Hunt.

“When is?” I hear you cry. Fair point. The reactions of the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh certainly seem to have put the Health Secretary in a state.

He was at a smart Buckingham Palace event, arranged to thank everyone involved in the Diamond Jubilee celebrations, which took place while he was Culture Secretary. He decided this was the moment to put his greatest talent on display.

Clearly, it wasn’t his wit. No, I refer to his talent for making a faux pas – or, in English, a bloody fool of himself.

“I read about a Japanese tourist who said afterwards how wonderful our Queen must be to take part in that, as they would never get their emperor to jump out of the plane,” he told Her Majesty. Faced with an irrelevant comment about a completely different event, she paused, smiled politely, shrugged, and moved on.

Then the Duke of Edinburgh turned up. You may remember he had quite a rough time during the Diamond Jubilee, contracting an infection that hospitalised him for several days. As a result, he probably saw most of it on TV but – clearly – the then-Culture Secretary hadn’t made the slightest impression on him as the first thing he said was, “Who are you?”

Hunt managed to spit out some information about his current job, and that he was Culture Secretary during the Diamond Jubilee and the Olympics, only to have the Duke respond: “Well they do move you people on a lot.”

We are led to believe Mr Hunt was embarrassed by the whole episode. What makes it worse is that he might have gained a bit more recognition if he had mentioned some of the other public disasters in which he has been involved.

Ask not for whom the bell tolls: Mr Hunt’s bell-end landed in a passing lady’s lap. Oh dear.

Perhaps he should have said, “I’m the fool who went ringing a bell to announce the start of the Olympics, only to have the end fall off and hit a passing lady in the lap”?

Or: “I’m the twit who arrived at a meeting with Rupert Murdoch – a gentleman with whom I have long-standing ties, even though he’s being investigated by an official inquiry ordered by my government – but, finding a multitude of press photographers there and not wanting to be seen publicly with the head of NewsCorp… hid behind a tree. One that was too narrow to stop them from spotting me.”

At least he had the good taste not to mention the moment when James Naughtie mispronounced his surname, live on national radio. The use of the C-word would have been beyond the pale.

(Although, it might have won him the recognition he wanted from the Duke).

Perhaps David Cameron would have been better off introducing into his Cabinet some faces that were more recognisable?

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