Lansley - unfit for office?
Wednesday, November 26, 2008 I've had my doubts about Andrew Lansley for a long, long time. The shadow health secretary is wet with a capital 'W'. Now, it seems, he's stupid as well. Writing on the Tory party's Blue Blog, Lansley said that while said he regretted the "human misery" recessions cause, "On many counts, recessions can be good for us. People tend to smoke less, drink less alcohol, eat less rich food and spend more time at home with their families."
For once I agree with Dr Vivienne Nathanson, head of science and ethics at the British Medical Association, who is quoted in today's Daily Mail: "There is no evidence that people smoke less in a recession. You can see the opposite happening - people might smoke and drink more because they are anxious and depressed. It is very difficult when you lose your job or think you are going to lose your house."
Lansley has now removed the comments (allegedly under orders from David Cameron) and apologised - but what an absolute and utter prat. How depressing to think that this man could one day be in charge of a major government department. Comments like this suggest that he is not only out of touch with many ordinary men and women, but he is unfit for office.
Simon Clark
Simon Carr of the Independent has a rather different take on Lansley's view of the recession. According to Carr, "That is the only interesting thing Andrew Lansley has said in 40 years and he was made to apologise for it." Ouch!
Reader Comments (10)
David Cameron really needs to build a team of people with the calibre: intelligence, competence and ability to inspire some confidence. It's extraordinary, given the performance of this Government, that the Tories aren't winning support by assertively trumpeting a vision of the UK were they to win the next election. Is it really so difficult for them to understand the issues about which people are unhappy? Do they really believe that only a handful of people are unhappy about the erosion of civil liberties, presumption of guilt and not innocence, misuse of powers by LAs, stealth taxation, the power of the EU etc? If they can't appreciate the misery of living in today's UK then they no more deserve to govern than Labour.
What a terrible system when democracy boils down to choosing between a rock and a hard place. It is, effectively, no choice at all.
The quote from Dr Vivienne Nathanson said "There is no evidence that people smoke less in a recession. You can see the opposite happening - people might smoke and drink more because they are anxious and depressed. It is very difficult when you lose your job or think you are going to lose your house."
There is no evidence people will smoke more in a recession. You can see the opposite happening - people might smoke and drink less because they are short of money. It is very difficult when you lose your job or think you are going to lose your house.
Lansley and the Conservative party need to rapidly grow a backbone. Maples apologising for telling the truth, now Lansley. Mollycoddling the population and treating us like children got us into this mess. Did Tony Benn apologise for saying rationing did the population's health a power of good?
"Comments like this suggest that he is not only out of touch with many ordinary men and women, but he is unfit for office."
We will be tightening our belts long before the Westminster set have to. Fags and booze can be more readily economised than food and fuel.
"We will be tightening our belts long before the Westminster set have to. Fags and booze can be more readily economised than food and fuel." (Gareth)
I think this is why, Gareth, Lansley's remarks could be considered stupid. He might well speak the truth but, at a time, when people are desperately worried and the Government is emphasising its commitment to helping people (irrespective of whether or not you believe that its measures will be effective) his remarks re-awaken echoes of the Tories as 'the nasty party'. In the area of the UK in which I live many, many people still remember, with anger, Tebbit's remark during the last recession about 'getting on your bike'. At best, Lansley's remark lacked emotional and political intelligence; at worst, it implied that the Tories continue to be indifferent to the plight of ordinary people.
"We will be tightening our belts long before the Westminster set have to. Fags and booze can be more readily economised than food and fuel." (Gareth)
Wrong, Gareth!
I have been out of work, on the verge of losing my home and in dire straits, but I always found the money to smoke! For me, it was the one thing that kept me just on the side of sanity. I may well not have eaten much, certainly not healthily, but I did continue to smoke and it was the only way I coped.
I am sure you will find many other people who feel the same, up and down the country.
My daughter was always fed and clothed, it was her father and me that went without, apart from our cigs! Call me and addict if you like, but in a 'needs must' situation I would always turn to my cigs first.
Shop lifting has increased greatly, since the 'recession'.
Well if this is what the Shadow Health Secretary really believes, then God help us all.
He's no better than the clowns we're putting up with at the moment.
When's the revolution going to begin? That's what I want to know. People are getting very, very angry with these puritanical plonkers!
I have tried several times to post some copy on a link from F2C to a report of plans for a neo-Gothic smoking shelter at the Commons. My comments were as follows, though they could have been more:
'Will there be huge and hilarious problems of precedence in this sanctum? Will MPs and Officers of the House be allowed in before police and canteen workers? And will there be a distinction between peers who have been MPs and those who have not? These kinds of rule apply elsewhere in the Palace. Oh dear. But will the MPs think of members of the British Legion and elderly hospital patients freezing in the blizzard miles away in their constituencies?'
Joyce -
You say:
"David Cameron really needs to build a team of people with the calibre: intelligence, competence and ability to inspire some confidence."
Well, quite ! Perhaps he could make a start by taking a leaf out of Mr Brown's book, and invite Kate Hoey and Frank Field to join his 'team'....................
Sorry to rant, but I've just had about enough of the Tories cat and mouse games.
Lansley has obviously made himself quite clear, even if DC will not.
If the Tories oppose being led by extremists on the health agenda, then why don't they say so? They haven't. I don't think they ever will! Silence is golden to me. They are in opposition at the moment and are not doing much opposing to the government agenda on this issue - what does this mean? I've made my own mind up.
Every 'prospective Tory MP' that I dialogue with agrees with my views - but the Tory Head Office never shift from the PC agenda.
By the looks of Andrew Lansley I too would have my doubts, for starters he looks like call me Dave's twin and that a hard days work would kill him. You could just picture him with a bottle of evian water and patronising sushi bars. In other words totally detached from reality and the punters notice these little things.
Hence his off the wall comment that people smoke less in a recession.
Where was he during the recession of the 80's, is he that young, it probably didnt effect him anyway to make that statement. Because its a well known fact that pubs always do well in a recession as was the case in the 80's. I dont have to mention the fags in that era as the people that lived through that recession at least had a life and their civil liberties were still intact.
How reassuring for us that he "regretted" the human misery the recession caused.. With PR speak like that it just shows that Dave hasnt learned his lesson as we've had 11 years of such weasel words and we're sick of them.