Elite Member- Joined
- Jan 27, 2010
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- State Of Confusion
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- wober.net
Nick Clegg, the Deputy Prime Minister, has vowed to veto the Government's planned NHS reforms unless the package put forward by Andrew Lansley, the health secretary, is improved.
Mr Clegg said unless there are ''substantial, significant changes'' to Mr Lansley's proposals to hand commissioning powers to GPs and extend private provision of NHS services, he will tell Liberal Democrat MPs and peers to vote them down.
The warning came as Mr Clegg set out his plans to be more assertive within the coalition Government in response to the drubbing received by the Liberal Democrats in last week's elections.
The Lib Dem leader accepted his party's traditional supporters were ''anxious'' about the programme of spending cuts which the Government has signed up to, but insisted that the coalition's efforts to reduce the deficit must continue.
Despite the loss of more than 700 English councillors and the bulk of his representation in the Scottish Parliament - as well as the overwhelming defeat on electoral reform - Mr Clegg insisted the Lib Dems still had ''a platform from which we can recover''.
His comments came as Labour leader Ed Miliband issued a plea to disgruntled Lib Dems to jump ship from the coalition and join him in opposing the Conservatives - a call which was dismissed as ''tactics'' by Mr Clegg.
The Lib Dem leader told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show: ''I accept that there is real pressure on us to explain to our traditional voters why we are doing this and why it is good for the country.
''Of course there are lessons to be learnt, and the lesson I have learnt listening to people on the doorsteps is that people want a louder Liberal Democrat voice in Government.''
And he made clear that the NHS will be the first battleground on which he will attempt to demonstrate the Lib Dems' influence.
Full story: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/pol...reatens-to-veto-Coalition-health-reforms.html
Mr Clegg said unless there are ''substantial, significant changes'' to Mr Lansley's proposals to hand commissioning powers to GPs and extend private provision of NHS services, he will tell Liberal Democrat MPs and peers to vote them down.
The warning came as Mr Clegg set out his plans to be more assertive within the coalition Government in response to the drubbing received by the Liberal Democrats in last week's elections.
The Lib Dem leader accepted his party's traditional supporters were ''anxious'' about the programme of spending cuts which the Government has signed up to, but insisted that the coalition's efforts to reduce the deficit must continue.
Despite the loss of more than 700 English councillors and the bulk of his representation in the Scottish Parliament - as well as the overwhelming defeat on electoral reform - Mr Clegg insisted the Lib Dems still had ''a platform from which we can recover''.
His comments came as Labour leader Ed Miliband issued a plea to disgruntled Lib Dems to jump ship from the coalition and join him in opposing the Conservatives - a call which was dismissed as ''tactics'' by Mr Clegg.
The Lib Dem leader told BBC1's Andrew Marr Show: ''I accept that there is real pressure on us to explain to our traditional voters why we are doing this and why it is good for the country.
''Of course there are lessons to be learnt, and the lesson I have learnt listening to people on the doorsteps is that people want a louder Liberal Democrat voice in Government.''
And he made clear that the NHS will be the first battleground on which he will attempt to demonstrate the Lib Dems' influence.
Full story: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/pol...reatens-to-veto-Coalition-health-reforms.html
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