Forum defections.

[The Bishop]

But eventually got bored with that, evidently

[Pimpernal]

Jun 3, 2016 10:20:00 GMT The Bishop said:

What did you do between 1993 and 2004?

University, Masters, loads of goth stuff and animal rightsy stuff

[Harry Hayfield]

Formal Announcement (Source: National Health Action Party website)

Wales is often held up as an example of how the NHS can still be run as a public service even in times of public sector cuts and a push for privatisation. But Llansantffraed Community Councillor Harry Hayfield’s personal experience has led him to realise that whilst there are differences between what is happening to the NHS in England and the NHS in Wales they share a common problem – underfunding leads to cuts in service.

Cllr Hayfield says: “I have been a Liberal Democrat for the past twenty four years, however last March a chain of events started that has persuaded me it is time to change. When my grandmother was put onto the Welsh NHS’ waiting list for a hip operation, I was fully aware that she would have to wait at least eighteen months. But what I was not aware of was just how painful the condition was. She was forced into a position where her only option was to have private treatment. Although the operation was a success she was discharged without being completely tested for after effects. That treatment was to lead to complications which meant she was admitted as a patient to the NHS, after all.

The NHS is obliged to provide emergency treatment but its underfunding is restricting its ability to provide a timely service to the public. It is clear to me from my experience that a market for the private sector is being opened up. I was elected as a Liberal Democrat community councillor in Ceredigion but worry that, because the money for the NHS comes from Westminster, the Welsh service is in desperate need of help that the Assembly has little control over. Having seen that it’s the NHS which picks up the pieces after private healthcare has made its profits, I am concerned that there is no clear political voice spelling out what the real issues are. I have therefore made a personal decision to join the National Health Action Party in order to campaign for people, like my grandmother, to get the care and treatment that they deserve."

Dr Clive Peedell, the NHA party leader said,

“We are delighted by Cllr Hayfield’s decision. We do not want to see the NHS in Wales – or in Scotland – following the same route as in England. We were very disappointed to hear Leanne Woods talking before the Welsh Assembly elections about creating lean organisations, bringing in the private sector and tightening up the public sector. This sounds worryingly like the language of someone who has accepted George Osborne’s austerity agenda. Progressive politics recognises the importance of a clear distinction between public service and private business. Investing in the NHS as a public service brings rewards to the greater economy, it is not a drain. Cllr Hayfield wants to use his change of party to highlight that distinction, to make people realise that better services cannot be provided under a constant regime of cuts and change. The NHS in all the UK’s countries needs stability, public provision and decent funding.

Cllr Hayfield will be making a public statement, which we support, about his change of party. If there are 10 people from his electoral area who object to his change of party then he will stand down and campaign for his community council place under his new colours. We hope his local electorate will understand and respect his reasons for change and allow him to help the NHA to highlight the danger our NHS faces from underfunding and privatisation.

Cllr Hayfield also has a personal reason for wanting to be part of NHA. He grew up up in the area served by Dr. Richard Taylor, who co-founded the NHA with me and is now its life president. Dr Taylor was the MP for Wyre Forest, and was elected twice as an independent candidate fighting for an NHS that was fit for purpose. The National Health Action Party welcomes Cllr Hayfield as part of that campaign."

[Deleted]

Between 1978, when I was 16, and 1993, I was a member of the Conservative Party. My break with it occurred over Europe. I had campaigned actively against the Maastricht Treaty, and resigned on 1 January 1993, the day it passed into law. I declined an invitation from Dr Alan Sked to join UKIP because, even though I sympathized with its objectives, I saw no future for it given the enormous hurdles our electoral system placed in its path. I then joined the Ulster Unionist Party (the union with Northern Ireland being another cause I have always supported), and remained a member for the remainder of John Major’s time in Office.

In 1997 - after John Major’s resignation - I rejoined the Conservative Party, mainly in order to bolster the eurosceptic cause. Despite the pitiful performance of both William Hague and Iain Duncan Smith, and my reservations about the coherence and honesty of Conservative policy on Europe, I still believe this to have been a defensible position in the circumstances of the time. For all the Conservative Party’s failings, it is mainly due to its stance on the Euro that we owe the fact we are not now enmeshed in the Single Currency.

I finally gave up on the Conservative Party in 2004, as two things were becoming clear. Firstly, that Michael Howard - for all his professionalism and undoubted ability – had made no impact whatsoever on the Conservative Party’s standing. Secondly, Conservative rhetoric on Europe was shifting away from the party’s already inadequate position. So I finally joined UKIP. My reasoning was that, if the Conservatives was going to lose the next election anyway - and appeared to be “selling out” on Europe in the meantime - it now made sense to explore other avenues and focus on other political objectives (notably the referendum on the proposed constitutional treaty, which of course never materialised). It also appeared to me that UKIP was putting down roots, and that its recent success in the European Election had given it a solid bridgehead from which to advance. I felt it was not now completely unimaginable that UKIP could become a core around which disillusioned Conservatives might coalesce in the future.

My membership of UKIP lasted only a year or two, until my concerns about its leadership and internal culture prompted me to quietly fold my tent and steal away. I have now spent a decade out of active politics, and see no prospect of returning.

[Deleted]

Jun 7, 2016 14:00:37 GMT @goodoldcause said:

Michael Howard - for all his professionalism and undoubted ability – had made no impact whatsoever on the Conservative Party’s standing.

Howard definitely left the party in better shape than he found it, in my opinion. I doubt any Conservative leader could have actually won in 2005. The gap was closing, even if only in terms of opinion polls and popular vote as opposed to parliamentary seats. After 2001 it seemed hopeless; after 2005 I believed the party was finally set to become a government in waiting.

[carlton43]

Jun 3, 2016 10:20:00 GMT The Bishop said:

What did you do between 1993 and 2004?

It is said 'usually implies a royal holiday'?

[Deleted]

Jun 7, 2016 19:00:27 GMT swanarcadian said:

Jun 7, 2016 14:00:37 GMT @goodoldcause said:

Michael Howard - for all his professionalism and undoubted ability – had made no impact whatsoever on the Conservative Party’s standing.

Howard definitely left the party in better shape than he found it, in my opinion. I doubt any Conservative leader could have actually won in 2005. The gap was closing, even if only in terms of opinion polls and popular vote as opposed to parliamentary seats. After 2001 it seemed hopeless; after 2005 I believed the party was finally set to become a government in waiting.

That is arguable.

However, it was - sadly - clear by 2004 that Howard himself was never going to become Prime Minister, and that the next election was already lost.

[Dan]

Looking forward to hearing a report back from Harry Hayfield as to how the Llansantffraed Community Council meeting went last night and the community's reaction to his defection.

[Harry Hayfield]

Jun 8, 2016 8:04:45 GMT Dan said:

Looking forward to hearing a report back from Harry Hayfield as to how the Llansantffraed Community Council meeting went last night and the community's reaction to his defection.

I made a small statement at the end of the meeting explaining my change of designation and told the clerk that if ten letters arrive from electors calling on me to contest a by-election I will do so. The general reaction of the other members was to get out their smartphones and Google for the National Health Action party.

[neilm]

Jun 7, 2016 13:25:38 GMT Harry Hayfield said:

Formal Announcement (Source: National Health Action Party website)

Wales is often held up as an example of how the NHS can still be run as a public service even in times of public sector cuts and a push for privatisation.

Isn't the NHS in Wales held up as an example of mismanagement? It gets a lot of stick.

[Pete Whitehead]

It's a shame that the allusions to Camberwick Green and Trumpton have been dropped from the formal statement

[carlton43]

Jun 7, 2016 13:25:38 GMT Harry Hayfield said:

Formal Announcement (Source: National Health Action Party website)

Wales is often held up as an example of how the NHS can still be run as a public service even in times of public sector cuts and a push for privatisation. But Llansantffraed Community Councillor Harry Hayfield’s personal experience has led him to realise that whilst there are differences between what is happening to the NHS in England and the NHS in Wales they share a common problem – underfunding leads to cuts in service.

Cllr Hayfield says: “I have been a Liberal Democrat for the past twenty four years, however last March a chain of events started that has persuaded me it is time to change. When my grandmother was put onto the Welsh NHS’ waiting list for a hip operation, I was fully aware that she would have to wait at least eighteen months. But what I was not aware of was just how painful the condition was. She was forced into a position where her only option was to have private treatment. Although the operation was a success she was discharged without being completely tested for after effects. That treatment was to lead to complications which meant she was admitted as a patient to the NHS, after all.

The NHS is obliged to provide emergency treatment but its underfunding is restricting its ability to provide a timely service to the public. It is clear to me from my experience that a market for the private sector is being opened up. I was elected as a Liberal Democrat community councillor in Ceredigion but worry that, because the money for the NHS comes from Westminster, the Welsh service is in desperate need of help that the Assembly has little control over. Having seen that it’s the NHS which picks up the pieces after private healthcare has made its profits, I am concerned that there is no clear political voice spelling out what the real issues are. I have therefore made a personal decision to join the National Health Action Party in order to campaign for people, like my grandmother, to get the care and treatment that they deserve."

Dr Clive Peedell, the NHA party leader said,

“We are delighted by Cllr Hayfield’s decision. We do not want to see the NHS in Wales – or in Scotland – following the same route as in England. We were very disappointed to hear Leanne Woods talking before the Welsh Assembly elections about creating lean organisations, bringing in the private sector and tightening up the public sector. This sounds worryingly like the language of someone who has accepted George Osborne’s austerity agenda. Progressive politics recognises the importance of a clear distinction between public service and private business. Investing in the NHS as a public service brings rewards to the greater economy, it is not a drain. Cllr Hayfield wants to use his change of party to highlight that distinction, to make people realise that better services cannot be provided under a constant regime of cuts and change. The NHS in all the UK’s countries needs stability, public provision and decent funding.

Cllr Hayfield will be making a public statement, which we support, about his change of party. If there are 10 people from his electoral area who object to his change of party then he will stand down and campaign for his community council place under his new colours. We hope his local electorate will understand and respect his reasons for change and allow him to help the NHA to highlight the danger our NHS faces from underfunding and privatisation.

Cllr Hayfield also has a personal reason for wanting to be part of NHA. He grew up up in the area served by Dr. Richard Taylor, who co-founded the NHA with me and is now its life president. Dr Taylor was the MP for Wyre Forest, and was elected twice as an independent candidate fighting for an NHS that was fit for purpose. The National Health Action Party welcomes Cllr Hayfield as part of that campaign."

I used to prefer your informal announcements.

Hubris lurks for the unsuspecting.

[Sibboleth]

Jun 8, 2016 8:42:26 GMT neilm said:

Isn't the NHS in Wales held up as an example of mismanagement? It gets a lot of stick.

Confusion of 'outcomes' (urgh) and competence plus politicians being politicians: in reality it's run about as well as in England (better in some respects, worse in others) but the lower levels of health (for various reasons) and Wales being the most rural region of Great Britain have certain hard to avoid effects on statistics.

[Tangent]

Not a defection as such. But, in this changed situation, can you make me LD, Kris? I will join the party as soon as possible. I have been a Conservative voter for my entire adult life, but I think that's over now.

[Admin Twaddleford]

Jun 24, 2016 11:10:22 GMT Tangent said:

Not a defection as such. But, in this changed situation, can you make me LD, Kris? I will join the party as soon as possible. I have been a Conservative voter for my entire adult life, but I think that's over now.

Done! If there are any further changes, please tag me into the post to guarantee I spot it, I will change your group status as soon as possible.

Also, on a personal note, I have rejoined the SNP. My membership had expired some time last year, and I hadn't renewed. It's all change now though...

[Khunanup]

Jun 24, 2016 11:30:10 GMT Admin Twaddleford said:

Jun 24, 2016 11:10:22 GMT Tangent said:

Not a defection as such. But, in this changed situation, can you make me LD, Kris? I will join the party as soon as possible. I have been a Conservative voter for my entire adult life, but I think that's over now.

Done! If there are any further changes, please tag me into the post to guarantee I spot it, I will change your group status as soon as possible.

Also, on a personal note, I have rejoined the SNP. My membership had expired some time last year, and I hadn't renewed. It's all change now though...

Are you moving back to Scotland?

[Admin Twaddleford]

This is the plan!

[gwynthegriff]

Jun 24, 2016 11:10:22 GMT Tangent said:

Not a defection as such. But, in this changed situation, can you make me LD, Kris? I will join the party as soon as possible. I have been a Conservative voter for my entire adult life, but I think that's over now.

Welcome aboard!

[Cromwell]

Thought I should make a very general comment: since my "defection", I'll note that the Socialist Labour Party has not charged me for a single membership fee and that, since the disgraceful defection of its president to the Labour Party, I've received no communication from them.

I'm the sort of person who'd like to be a member of political party (which explains my membership of the 'Green' party, when my views were so far removed from its standard), but I'm genuinely unsure of my future.

[Tangent]

(Apologies: wrong thread).