Douglas Carswell MP
I see that Conservative MP Douglas Carswell is defending Daniel Hannan in a recent edition of the Clacton Gazette.
“Tory MEP Daniel Hannan has been criticised by Conservative leader David Cameron for attacking the NHS during a television debate on heathcare in the US, in which Republican politicians have opposed Barack Obama’s healthcare reform plans.
The NHS has been used by US commentators as an example of socialised medicine, claiming it has poor quality healthcare and poor efficiency. “I wouldn’t wish it on anybody,” said Mr Hannan, speaking about the NHS. “We have a system where the most salient facts of it is you get huge waiting lists, you have bad survival rates and you would much rather fall ill in the US.”
Mr Carswell said he did not want to comment on Mr Hannan’s statement, but supported his views on the need to reform the NHS. “I am a staunch supporter of the NHS and a staunch friend of Daniel Hannan,” he said. “I support the NHS, I use it and my family uses it, however, I think we can improve it by looking at what other countries do.
“In our book, the Plan, we look at what they do in France and Australia – we could have an even better system than we already do. Millions of pounds were spent on a hospital in Harwich which stood empty for three years – we can do better than that.”
Writing on his blog, Mr Hannan said his plans, co-authored by Mr Carswell, set out a scheme to replace the “current Government monopoly” in healthcare with a Singapore-style system of personal healthcare accounts.”
3 comments ↓
If even Douglas Carswell cannot support Hannan’s statement in the USA that the “NHS makes people more ill” why cannot Cameron demand an apology?
Hannan is becoming still more iconic for the right, and not only blogs but also writes leaders for the Daily Telegraph. He has the ears of the neo con public in the states, as the DT blogs which ran parallel to his YouTube harangue of the Prime Minister made clear by the innumerable USA comments.
Cameron did not have to endorse Hannan’s MEP candidacy earlier this year, after Hannan effectively quit the Euro-tories over their membership of the European People’s Party–European Democrats group – but he did.
Clearly Cameron wants Hannan inside his tent for the traditional reason, and Hannan is exploiting his position.
His “eccentric” views are a real threat to Cameron, and his hopes of a majority.
Douglas’s imaginative ideas compares well to Labour’s stale thinking on public services.
[...] backbenchers include Douglas Carswell, who co-wrote “The Plan” and defended co-author Daniel Hannan’s views on the NHS; Andrew Rosindell, who was a member of the [...]
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