[Malcolm Armsteen]

I was amazed to hear that about the Millibands. Ed was probably the wrong choice as leader, but he's firmly established at the top table now, and would be in government. Why bother with bringing the David soap opera back?

Because he is a talented and authoritative politician who would help the party win.

[Arrowhead]

I think I'm with Tubby on this one - David Miliband coming back now would quickly turn into a tedious soap opera & become an annoying distraction for an incoming Labour government to manage. A bit different, perhaps, if the two of them can bury the hatchet in the meantime but that doesn't sound very likely after all this time.

I know I mentioned him on another thread recently, but if I could magically choose one "big beast" to return from the cold then I would go for Owen Smith. His 2016 leadership campaign was very impressive, in fact I'm of the belief that if he had stood twelve months earlier and displayed the same amount of passion then I reckon he could've won & the whole Corbyn debacle may have been avoided altogether. I'm pretty sure the very sizeable "soft left" Labour membership would've backed him rather than take a punt on Corbyn in the end.

That whole Indyref/Brexit/Corbyn era really did chew through some very talented Labour figures, didn't it? A truly disastrous period for the party. And therefore the country as well.

[Abernathy]

I think I'm with Tubby on this one - David Miliband coming back now would quickly turn into a tedious soap opera & become an annoying distraction for an incoming Labour government to manage. A bit different, perhaps, if the two of them can bury the hatchet in the meantime but that doesn't sound very likely after all this time.

I’m not sure that there even is a hatchet, or that there ever was. The whole “stabbed his brother in the back” nonsense was on a par with the “weirdo eating a bacon sandwich” bollocks, though that both kept coming up on the doorstep was a measure of the still potent influence of the tabloid press. They might want to turn “David vs. Ed” into a new “Megan & Harry vs. Willie & Kate”, but I don’t think it would fly. They’ll be too busy trying to pin badger-buggery on Keir Starmer.

[Oboogie]

I’m not sure that there even is a hatchet, or that there ever was.

You think the Guardian has it wrong?

[Arrowhead]

You think the Guardian has it wrong?

To be honest, when the article described the situation between Ed & David as "estranged" then I automatically assumed "they don't speak to one another". But I suppose it could just mean there is merely a rather awkward, icy relationship between the two of them.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

I would take David over Ed any day.

[Abernathy]

I’m not sure that there even is a hatchet, or that there ever was.

You think the Guardian has it wrong?

Did The Guardian speak of a hatchet needing to be buried? If it did, then yes, I do think that's wrong, or at the very least a misrepresentation of reality. Clearly there will have been strains on the fraternal relationship between David and Ed, but that shouldn't be exaggerated. David understandably removed himself from British politics and went to live and work in NYC after Ed defeated him for the leadership, but there is clearly now scope for David to return to Labour and possibly take a role in government, to which I simply do not think his relationship with his brother would be any sort of barrier.

[Tubby Isaacs]

David isn’t a Labour Ken Clarke who’s seen it all. He was in the Cabinet for only 4 years, most of that as Foreign Secretary during the Iraq War. He also pissed Gordon Brown about with his leadership challenge nonsense. He blew it, I’m afraid.

I don’t think generally that political come backs work. People just think it’s backward looking. Unless you’re as good as, say, Roy Jenkins and even he needed an enormous hole to jump into.

[Oboogie]

David isn’t a Labour Ken Clarke who’s seen it all. He was in the Cabinet for only 4 years, most of that as Foreign Secretary during the Iraq War. He also pissed Gordon Brown about with his leadership challenge nonsense. He blew it, I’m afraid.

I don’t think generally that political come backs work. People just think it’s backward looking. Unless you’re as good as, say, Roy Jenkins and even he needed an enormous hole to jump into.

Agreed. He's also been out of politics (and the UK) for almost ten years so it would take awhile to get him back up to speed plus younger voters won't know who he is.
He's yesterday's man. I think he'd have made a better leader than Ed but he lost. He could have stayed to have another go but he chose not to and now he reaps the rewards of that decision.

[Oboogie]

Did The Guardian speak of a hatchet needing to be buried?

The Guardian used the word "estranged".

[The Weeping Angel]

[Youngian]

David isn’t a Labour Ken Clarke who’s seen it all. He was in the Cabinet for only 4 years, most of that as Foreign Secretary

Held the post longer than David Owen who was a comeback kid. On seconds thoughts best David Milliband stays away.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Mixture of stuff here.

https://www.theguardian.com/society/202 ... -nhs-staff

Wes Streeting has said a Labour government would “tear up the contract” with GPs, and could make family doctors salaried NHS employees.

Sounds simple. Is there some reason why they aren't already?

This though doesn't sound like a good idea.

suggested people could refer themselves directly to specialists rather than going through a GP.

That sounds like a load of people wasting the specialists' time.

[Abernathy]

We need to be much clearer on this. Primary Care definitely does need radical reform. A return to Darzi *Centres would, in my view, be a great initiative.


*Google “Darzi centres”.

[Andy McDandy]

What was it Bevan said about stuffing mouths with gold? Semi-independent and free to do a bit of private work is how you get some NHS work out of them.

[Tubby Isaacs]

I'm sure they'd still be able to do that. There's some "public" work they bill separately for, I think.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

We need to be much clearer on this. Primary Care definitely does need radical reform. A return to Darzi *Centres would, in my view, be a great initiative.


*Google “Darzi centres”.

Abolished by Andrew Lansley in the first round of austerity, I believe...

[Tubby Isaacs]

We need to be much clearer on this. Primary Care definitely does need radical reform. A return to Darzi *Centres would, in my view, be a great initiative.


*Google “Darzi centres”.

That may be what the article is on about in one section. I'm open to that, not least because of my recent experience with the GP.

Mine phoned me up after some tests, and said they were contacting an old doctor for more information. They never heard back from them and I never heard back from this new GP. But the receptionist was very sure indeed that I'd already had my results because they could see the doctor had phoned me. The receptionist informed me I had prediabetes, which I kind of could have done with knowing about straight away (two months ago). Had I not chased it up myself, I'd have never known (I thought I was being tested for my early stage fatty liver. I've had no update on that. Neither of these are the worst conditions in the world, but you need the info on them.

You'd think this would have been an "oh shit" moment, that the doctor would have called me ASAP. Nope. Wait another 2 weeks for the doctor to call me.

[davidjay]

I can honestly say that I've received nothing but exemplary treatment from my GP over the years.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Me too, till this, especially in Wales where they have prioritised GPS controversially over waiting lists. Much better for long term prevention.