According to official figures, the UK became the first country in Europe to record (very unfortunately) 100,000 coronavirus-related deaths. Currently, the UK has the fifth-highest number of deaths globally, after the US, Brazil, India and Mexico (as a percentage of Covid deaths to population, the UK percentage is higher than that of the US). To […]
We need to talk about the Healthcare workforce – again
So what’s changed since my last piece for LDV on this ten months ago? – nothing and everything, in a phrase, it’s got much worse. Last March the fear of an unknown, rapidly spreading and possible deadly virus, the prospect of the NHS being overwhelmed; inadequate ventilators and ITU beds, terrifying pictures from Italy of […]
Telling Covid as it is in rural Shropshire
Last March, we didn’t know what we were getting in to. We just knew we had to get in. Up to our knees. Up to our necks. At times overwhelmed. The Lib Dems are in opposition in Shropshire so we could not be decision makers. Our duty in a Lib Dem stronghold was to tell […]
Should we thank Gwyneth Paltrow and Matt Damon for 10 million vaccinations within a month?
Embed from Getty Images I could go on for hours about the government’s lamentable response to the Covid-19 pandemic. But the one the government has got right, in my view, is the speed and volume of vaccination. Some of my favourite heroes are Edward Jenner, Alexander Fleming, Howard Florey and Ernst Chain. – Not the […]
Families of those of who have died from Covid-19 deserve answers – Ed Davey
Ed Davey has responded to Boris Johnson’s refusal to lay out a timeline for a public inquiry into his Government’s response to the coronavirus crisis: Boris Johnson says there will come a time to learn the lessons of the pandemic, but the public will rightly ask, if not now, then when? The best time to […]
A year on from the day that would go on to change our lives
The 31st January 2020 began, as it often does, with urgent Council business. I was visiting the Network Rail Operating Centre in York, with other Council leaders from North Yorkshire and Leeds, to discuss rail investment in our region with the Secretary of State for Transport. Immediately after the visit, I noticed a missed call […]
Protect the NHS?
It is the second part of this Government strapline that causes me more than a little concern. “Protect the NHS”. To me, it is the one thing that successive Conservative Governments have failed to do. We only need to look back at those years of austerity to know just how much the NHS has been […]
Why can’t NHS screening services include trans patients?
NHS patients are regularly invited to screening tests for different conditions. The tests can be inconvenient or uncomfortable, but the evidence on screening clearly shows it identifies risks early, prevents disease, and saves lives. Patients are at greater risk if they don’t receive invitations, or receive the wrong information. Trans patients can request to alter […]
WATCH: US Congressman’s beautiful and heartbreaking tribute to his son
Content warning: Suicide: “I’m not going to lose my son at the end of 2020 and lose my country and my republic in 2021,” Rep. Jamie Raskin says as he presses forward with impeachment articles while mourning his son. #CNNSOTU https://t.co/ENtoAqOMMk pic.twitter.com/YkDJvMxC8t — State of the Union (@CNNSotu) January 17, 2021 I have been known […]
Who gets the vaccine next?
I’m losing track of calls for vaccine priority for one group or another. Teachers, police, this morning port workers – one might logically add the whole food supply chain of 4 or 5 million people. Unpaid carers have been raised (currently in group 6 of phase 1 ahead of 60-64 year olds in group 7). […]