Rallying around the NHS

The outcry of the American right has the British rallying behind the NHS and familiar debates about bonuses abound

This week, Lord Mandelson was interviewed by the FT on the City watchdog’s new guidelines. He said the rules failed to address worries of a return to the old bonus culture in the face of reckless risk-taking.

"Excessive risk-taking had the results that we saw. Ordinary businesses are paying the price. We have not heard the last word on this subject." Others, including City minister Lord Myners, have also stepped in to vow that the government would be doing more to crack down on bonuses. "The short-term bonus culture in the global banking industry must end," he said. "The government is pursuing all options to ensure banks can no longer get away with the risky pay and bonus policies that contributed to the financial crisis."

But is this the job of the government or the regulator? Hector Sants, chief executive of the FSA, accused politicians of “passing the buck”. This code requires input and enforcement from both sides of the political/legal-front rather than blame-shunting.

The volley of pernicious accusation continues as joblessness rises, seemingly without any likelihood of stopping. More than 2.4 million people are currently without work, with figures looking less than unlikely to hit the 1980s peak of 3 million. With quantitative easing measures, rate cuts and a devaluation of the pound all prevalent over the past year, it’s a wonder whether there’s any way of calming the tumult, or at least catalysing recovery.

Would there even be talk of catalysts if it wasn’t for the measures employed by Gordon Brown and Mervyn King? The one certainty is that borrowing would have been even tougher. So as much as this recession is not going to have a quick heal, it could have been worse. 

We ought to at least be thankful for the NHS here in Britain, unlike the far-right Americans seem to be. Sarah Palin’s outburst caused a Twitter storm this week, and the outburst extended to include the NHS being described as “Orwellian” and even “evil”. Republican Senator Chuck Grassley put forward that Senator Edward Kennedy, who suffers from a brain tumour, would be left to die on the NHS.

If nothing else, the reaction in the UK has been one of solidarity, recognition and a fight against extreme conservatism. "I wouldn't be here today if it were not for the NHS," said Professor Stephen Hawking. It makes a change to have a unified message of positivity, giving reason to believe that it takes a devil’s advocate to bring people together in these troubled times…