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We currently have a Conservative government, and they hate the NHS. Anything they can do to sink the NHS or destroy its reputation and push people toward privat

We currently have a Conservative government, and they hate the NHS. Anything they can do to sink the NHS or destroy its reputation and push people toward private healthcare is a win to them. I wouldn't be surprised if this Palantir stuff involves an extremely onerous contract, and probably terms that the NHS cannot even afford long term, and the Tories knowingly entered into it any way.

ak_111 3y ago
I am afraid you can't simply blame the conservative for this. This is a total societal breakdown, and I am not being dramatic if you consider other simultaneous scandals such as PPE. By that I mean it is impressive how this could happen in one of the foremost liberal society with a large well-funded media representing the whole political spectrum, fiercely adversarial two-party politics, respect for institutional whistleblowers (so long as they don't involve foreign policy) and finally an independent civil service. All of those layers failed to put a stop to this or even to shed an intense light on it for the public. Far more than the conservatives had failed to let this get through. In fact what is amazing is the public barely aware of its existence as a news story. Try asking a few of your non-tech friends about it. Even the twitter mob failed on this.
- zimpenfish 3y ago
  > with a large well-funded media representing the whole political spectrum I'm reasonably sure the UK media tilts mostly rightwards with only a tiny strand on the left and a small chunk of centrism.
  - seeAls0 3y ago
    [dead]
- dwroberts 3y ago
  > other simultaneous scandals such as PPE. Also performed by the conservative government? I mean that sets the precedent for kick-backs as well, so I wouldn't be surprised if, after losing the next election, a bunch of sitting Conservative MPs go and mysteriously work for Palantir (Greensill all over again and - oh and hey, David Cameron's reputation is being rehabilitated right now by having him in government again, funny that)
0xy 3y ago
They've been in power for a long time and yet NHS spending increases are 2,000% higher than France's equivalent health spending. Can you explain how someone can "hate the NHS" while drowning them in cash far beyond what they need to operate?
- dwroberts 3y ago
  > Can you explain how someone can "hate the NHS" while drowning them in cash far beyond what they need to operate? Drowning them in cash that they have siphoned off to their own cronies and companies that give their MPs kickbacks. Not unlike this Palantir contract, which is probably going to be Greensill II
kmlx 3y ago
> We currently have a Conservative government, and they hate the NHS. while somehow simultaneously providing it with the most amount of funding ever: https://www.statista.com/statistics/317708/healthcare-expenditure-as-a-share-of-gdp-in-the-united-kingdom/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/317708/healthcare-expend... https://www.statista.com/statistics/632289/nhs-england-health-spending-in-real-terms/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/632289/nhs-england-healt... but even with these colossal amounts, it’s still underfunded according to the BMA: https://www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/nhs-delivery-and-workforce/funding/health-funding-data-analysis https://www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/nhs-delivery-and-w...
- red-iron-pine 3y ago
  their primary voting bloc is aging boomers. who are fatter than ever, and with healthcare demands to match. W Bush did the same thing with the Medicare expansion -- somehow the anti-Socialist party expanded social welfare benefits... to the one group that would vote for them.

ak_111 3y ago

I am afraid you can't simply blame the conservative for this. This is a total societal breakdown, and I am not being dramatic if you consider other simultaneous scandals such as PPE. By that I mean it is impressive how this could happen in one of the foremost liberal society with a large well-funded media representing the whole political spectrum, fiercely adversarial two-party politics, respect for institutional whistleblowers (so long as they don't involve foreign policy) and finally an independent civil service. All of those layers failed to put a stop to this or even to shed an intense light on it for the public. Far more than the conservatives had failed to let this get through. In fact what is amazing is the public barely aware of its existence as a news story. Try asking a few of your non-tech friends about it. Even the twitter mob failed on this.

zimpenfish 3y ago
> with a large well-funded media representing the whole political spectrum I'm reasonably sure the UK media tilts mostly rightwards with only a tiny strand on the left and a small chunk of centrism.
- seeAls0 3y ago
  [dead]
dwroberts 3y ago
> other simultaneous scandals such as PPE. Also performed by the conservative government? I mean that sets the precedent for kick-backs as well, so I wouldn't be surprised if, after losing the next election, a bunch of sitting Conservative MPs go and mysteriously work for Palantir (Greensill all over again and - oh and hey, David Cameron's reputation is being rehabilitated right now by having him in government again, funny that)

0xy 3y ago

They've been in power for a long time and yet NHS spending increases are 2,000% higher than France's equivalent health spending. Can you explain how someone can "hate the NHS" while drowning them in cash far beyond what they need to operate?

dwroberts 3y ago
> Can you explain how someone can "hate the NHS" while drowning them in cash far beyond what they need to operate? Drowning them in cash that they have siphoned off to their own cronies and companies that give their MPs kickbacks. Not unlike this Palantir contract, which is probably going to be Greensill II

kmlx 3y ago

> We currently have a Conservative government, and they hate the NHS. while somehow simultaneously providing it with the most amount of funding ever: https://www.statista.com/statistics/317708/healthcare-expenditure-as-a-share-of-gdp-in-the-united-kingdom/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/317708/healthcare-expend... https://www.statista.com/statistics/632289/nhs-england-health-spending-in-real-terms/ https://www.statista.com/statistics/632289/nhs-england-healt... but even with these colossal amounts, it’s still underfunded according to the BMA: https://www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/nhs-delivery-and-workforce/funding/health-funding-data-analysis https://www.bma.org.uk/advice-and-support/nhs-delivery-and-w...

red-iron-pine 3y ago
their primary voting bloc is aging boomers. who are fatter than ever, and with healthcare demands to match. W Bush did the same thing with the Medicare expansion -- somehow the anti-Socialist party expanded social welfare benefits... to the one group that would vote for them.