14.09.1995

Labour supports health cuts

JOHN McALLION, Labour’s Scottish Health spokesperson, wholeheartedly backed Dundee Hospital Trust’s plan to close Dundee Royal Infirmary at a meeting on September 7. He said, “I have spoken to the experts and they say it is better to have all the facilities on one site.”

He said nothing about the loss of facilities inherent in the plan. Surprising, since he had just argued that there was already a shortage of hospital beds in Scotland - Dundee included.

Under a Labour-controlled Scottish parliament, Scots can become the most highly taxed people in Britain, but McAllion made no promises to spend that money on healthcare.

Jill MacDonald, the Labour council candidate for Lochee West, made a plea for the continuation of breast cancer screening. Unfortunately, ‘experts’ are now arguing that the money would be better spent on cancer research. With a fixed, inadequate budget they are being perfectly rational in terms of bourgeois economics, so we may soon see another Labour commitment fade quietly away. The ‘expert’ advice over the DRI demonstrates that for Labour it is just an excuse to do nothing.

Phil Kent