Silent Majority Speaks

Rescuing Democracy in the United Kingdom from our current Elected Dictatorship

Write this letter to your Labour MP to get rid of Blair

 

WWW silentmajorityspeaks.com

After a clear vote against them, we still got eight non-elected Regional Assemblies. When we vote against the EU Constitution, we'll get them anyway. Letter from P.Cove, Aylesbury, BUCKS.- Daily Mail, January 31, 2005 THE TIMES slavish support for the Government worries some members of the paper's staff, not to mention any perspicacious readers who are left. Political editor Philip Webster was questioned about this when he addressed colleagues as part of an in-house 'masterclass' exercise. Small wonder. One of his Blair-worshipping subordinates wrote a news story yesterday poo-pooing the row over Labours anti-semitic poster mocking Michael Howard, saying it was merely £5million worth of 'free publicity' for the party. Ephraim Hardcastle - Daily Mail, Febrauary 2, 2005

"More people are dying each year from infections they pick up in dirty hospitals than the number who die on our roads. ..... During the first parliament we will increase the amount spent on the NHS by £34 billion - from £1,450/ head to £2,000 / head. This will be investment for reform, not the failed 'spend and waste' approach of the last eight years", writes Michael Howard in the Conservative Manifesto on Health. Download the whole manifesto here. Perhaps hospitals should adopt the motto: TOUGH ON GRIME. TOUGH ON THE CAUSES OF GRIME. Phil Musk, Godalming, Surrey - Letter to the Daily Mail, February 28, 2005

'Trickery' over the MRSA figures

Keep wards small 'to stop the spread of MRSA'

CLARE RAYNER says "Labour's ruining my beloved NHS. ... I won't vote for them."

Tories will put matrons in charge of war on MRSA

By David Hughes - Political Editor, Daily Mail , February 16, 2005

Powerful hospital matrons with the authority to overrule Whitehall bureaucrats will spearhead Tory attempts to eradicate the MRSA superbug. Under plans to be unveiled by Michael Howard today, they will be able to shut down dirty wards for cleaning regardless of the demands of hospital administrators.

Sister act There is a need for the return of the position of Matron in our hospitals, as it was 30 years ago, but it is still predominantly a management role. When I completed my training as a registered nurse and sick children's nurse in 1972, Matron was a key manager. She did come round the wards, but not daily and only for a few minutes at a time. Matrons then, as now, rely on the ward sister. If nurses in this role are allowed to perform effectively, they can make a great difference to the day-by-day, hour-by-hour running of the ward. I'm a senior sister in a busy hospital which has all the usual problems of nurse recruitment and retention, and I'm told by patients, relatives, visitors, student nurses and consultants that it's highly unusual for the sister to be working on the ward. It's hard to do both this and complete all the management tasks, but, by working closely with my ward manager, we can manage it together. I believe that by working alongside staff, talking to patients and being a visible part of the ward team, I can be a role model for other nurses. It's also much easier to monitor cleanliness and standards of care in this way. Matron has a key role and brings a nursing voice to top management, but let's bring back the clinical ward sister who provides leadership and support on the ward and helps the patients - which is why I came into nursing 32 years ago. Letter from Linda Ford, Pendesham, Worcs. Daily Mail, March 2, 2005 New Nightingale needed Letter to Daily Mail by Simon Prentis, London NW3 March 9, 2005 Statistics might show decreases in MRSA infections, but the crackdown on hygiene has clearly not yet reached our local hospital. I recently accompanied my wife in an emergency admission to the Royal Free Hospital in Nth London and was stunned by the widespread evidence of poor hygiene control. It wasn't so much the grubby, uncleaned floors and grimy walls as the dirty, blood-flecked curtains being used to close off the cubicles, the blood left to dry on the floor and nursing staff not bothering to wash hands between patients. Not to mention medical records being mixed up, blood samples lost, X-rays mislaid and, at one point, even a baby going missing. The vast sums the Government claims to be investing in the NHS obviously are not having an effect where they are most needed. Bring back Matron? What we need is a Florence Nightingale.

If elected, the Tories also plan to 'name and shame' dirty wards to allow patients to make an informed choice of where they wish to be treated. With 5,000 deaths every year from hospital infections, the crackdown will form a key plank in Conservative health policy.

Tory strategists believe there is growing anxiety over risk from hospital contracted infections, pointing out that they cause more deaths than road accidents. In their health manifesto, they propose putting a single person in charge of delivering infection-free wards in each hospital.

A spokesman said: "Florence Nightingale asked 'Who's in charge?' Today, no one knows. The Conservatives will reintroduce matrons. On matron will take charge in our hospitals to deliver clean and infection-free wards. This person will be employed by the NHS, not the Department of Health."

Backing up the matron will be local inspection teams with the power to call for the closure of dirty wards. Under existing regulations, teams do not have that power. "Conservatives will allow inspection teams to shut down dirty wards when there are 'superbug outbreaks' ," the spokesman continued. "Matron will be responsible for making sure this happens - not bureaucrats. The days when matron and inspection teams are overruled by managers chasing Government targets will be over."

The Tories' plans carry echoes of the Government's 'matron's charter' announced in October. Those proposals, unveiled by Health Secretary John Reid, were designed to encourage all staff to share responsibility for stopping the spread of MRSA. They were designed to get nurses more involved in drawing up cleaning contracts, giving matrons the power to withhold payments to cleaning firms if the job is not down properly.

However, the Tories claim that the matron's charter does not bestow the power to shut down dirty wards and that, without that, the problem of hospital infections will never be tackled. The Tory health package also promises patients the right to choose where they are treated and to publish details on which wards in a hospital are deemed dirty.

At present, only hospital trusts with poor cleanliness records are identified, not individual departments. "Which wards are dirty? No one knows," the spokesman said. "The Government will only make available to patients figures for hospital trusts. This leaves patients in the dark about dirty hospitals and how likely you are to catch a superbug infection. Labour claim to be converts to choice, but they won't provide the information patients need to make an informed choice."

The Tories will also require the National Institute for Clinical Excellence to prepare the new infection control standards to keep hospitals up to the mark. Mr Howard said: "Today, despite the devotion and dedication of thousands of doctors and nurses you are more likely to die of an infection you pick up in hospital than to be killed on Britain's roads. We will abolish the Whitehall target culture that has spawned the superbug crisis by preventing dirty wards being closed for cleaning. That will allow hospitals to put one person in charge of making sure wards and operating theatres are clean, bringing pride to maintaining the highest standards of hygiene, with the authority to protect patients."

The drive for cleaner hospitals is part of a health package that also includes the 'right to choose' policy for patients, the scrapping of central targets, as well as policies on GP's services, long-term care and the shortage of NHS dentists.

Do you agree the NHS needs single-sex wards, and strong matrons demanding cleanliness, rather than Equality Tsars, targets and statistics, to improve 'performance'? Agree strongly Agree Disagree Disagree strongly Don't know Don't care Pleas lick one of the links above to cast your vote Current results

 

STOP PRESS

 For the health of our democracy, we, the people of the United Kingdom, must find a way to force Mr Blair to resign

Mr Blair has lied and deceived us over Iraq. He must resign at once. Do you agree? Agree strongly Agree Disagree Disagree strongly Don't know Don't care Please click one of the links above to cast your vote Current results

Such defiance of the democratic process and the will of the majority of we people of the UK, must be exposed by voters as a matter or urgency, and not just in the two by-elections we have had this July and the European elections in June 2004. But how can this be done?

The most effective way of getting our deceitful PM to resign would be to mobilise the army of Labour MPs currently in the House of Commons and get them to demand it, the loss of their seat to be a penalty if they did not. All voters in Labour-held constituencies need to write a letter along these lines to their local Labour MPs:

Dear Despite his absolute and unequivocal assurances over the past year of the serious risk to our security of Saddam Hussein's 'weapons of mass destruction', Prime Minister Blair has admitted, that the threat was non-existent. For that critical error of judgement and for his gross incompetence in handling this very important issue, I ask you to take immediate steps to ensure that Tony Blair does the honourable thing and resign without delay.. I would therefore be much obliged if you would propose and help mobilise a Parliamentary vote of 'No Confidence' in Mr Blair which, despite Labour's huge majority, would leave the PM with no option but to resign. If I get no reply to this letter, I shall assume you will continue to support Mr Blair as our Prime Minister. In such circumstances I shall not vote for you in the forthcoming General Election. Signed:

Simple, non-violent, protest letters along these lines on a variety of issues could be the basis for re-vitalising our democracy and increasing voters' interest and participation in politics. Download a printable copy of the above letter here.

There is another way for the voice of the silent majority to be heard, a voice that made sure broken promises would not only be revealed, but punished in subsequent elections.

In the year available before the General Election expected in 2005, many topics are available as ammunition, each one asking questions.  A weapon for our purpose will be the results of Opinion Polls in individual  constituencies using ICM, NOP, Gallop, Mori  or YouGov.

Questions suggested for this purpose are listed here.

CAST YOUR VOTE ON A VARIETY OF OTHER IMPORTANT ISSUES HERE.

Current and prospective Parliamentary candidates of all Parties running for election could share a platform at public forums in every constituency. They would be presented with  the results of polls on this issue expressed by the majority of voters in that constituency.

The candidates could be asked if their own views and that of their Party manifesto corresponded with the polls, and if not, how they intended to represent the will of the majority of local voters.  Local and National Press, Radio and TV coverage would be arranged and the results published on this web site.

Here is another powerful strategy for using your vote effectively in the forthcoming General Election. Send your sitting and prospective MPs a letter defining your requirements if they want your vote. This example deals with the proposed EU Constitutional Treaty.

Your letters would end: "If you do not answer this letter, I shall take it that you intend to follow the Government line. I shall act accordingly in the forthcoming General Election.

Or why not create a questionnaire that you send to all the candidates in your constituency, getting them to give yes/no answers to questions of your choice, and ending it with the same paragraph(above).

Download a printable example of the questionnaire.

It is high time for the people of this United Kingdom to stop allowing themselves to be manipulated by politicians. We need our representatives in Parliament to genuinely reflect the view of the majority in their own constituency, even if this means going against their personal and/or their party's policy. While they may argue their case, hoping to change the minds of the majority in their constituency, they should ultimately be obliged to reflect the majority view of those who elect them. 

It will be argued by politicians of all parties that most voters don't have the knowledge necessary to express an opinion on important subjects at issue, and that our vote is a form of delegated democracy. We should argue that it is their duty to ensure that we voters do have ready access to such information as is necessary to form an intelligent opinion. That, after all, is one main purpose of Opposition Parties in our Parliamentary Democracy.

Most important of all, such proceedings would rekindle in voters their latent interest and obligation to cast their vote, knowing that the candidate of their choice would be more likely to act in accordance with their wishes. A much higher turnout in elections would be the result.

Contact your local Party Chairman. Gain his support for setting up public forums in your constituency on these, as well as any other relevant topics, well before the next General Election expected in 2005. You should then, depending on the integrity of the candidate of your choice, feel fairly certain that your view on any subject being debated in Parliament will more accurately be reflected by your representative in that assembly.

STOP PRESS