That debate about tiny data trails left on the Internet takes another little turn today. Last week I posted a link to Andrew Lansley’s blog. He was talking about mental health services but in so doing, he gave a little too much away:
“I’ve been reading up on the impact of previous economic downturns on our health. Interestingly, on many counts, recession can be good for us. People tend to smoke less, drink less alcohol, eat less rich food and spend more time at home with their families.”
It hardly displays empathy and understanding does it?
No wonder, Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell said of Mr Lansley:
“The Conservative Deputy Chairman may already regret letting the cat out of the bag when he said ‘the recession has to take its course’ but it remains Conservative policy. Now we know that not only would the Conservatives do nothing but sit back and watch the recession ‘take its course’ – they actually believe it would be ‘good for us’.
Surprise, surprise the post has now been removed. I’ve had three media outlets asking me if I kept a screen grab of Mr Lansley’s blog post in the last hour alone. Well, as it happens:
9 comments ↓
Oops … damn those data trails!
I’m afraid I’d have to agreed with him: from a utilitarian public health point of view, the recession will probably result in a physically healthier population.
I’m not sure it’s fair latch onto his comment as some sinister undertone about Conservative policy.
So reading his post it wasn’t as bad as everyone makes out and is in fact very true and merely a comment about the impact of previous recessions…nothing to apologise about…and not quite as bad as…
“Beating economic crisis will be our Falklands moment, boast Labour MPs”
….and to follow that up I remembered something worse from the FT last month and have just been to look it up…
“We needed a bloody good crisis and now we’ve got one,” says one senior Labour MP.
Any apologies?…any comment from Work and Pensions Secretary James Purnell? perhaps it was him…perhaps it was you Tom!
This is just another reason why the irresponsible, idiotic conservatives should never get their hands on the leavers of government- remember, Lansley is a man that supposedly did a deal with Cameron meaning that he WILL be the tory’s first Health Secretary. That frightens me a lot
“The leavers of government” – Do you mean the people who keep losing those laptops and discs on the train?
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