50 mistakes in 100 days (16-20)

By Howard Dawber

Over 100 days ago, Britain woke up to a new coalition government. In that time they have already displayed extraordinary economic illiteracy and are beginning to champion a dangerous mix of cruelty and cheerful incompetence, perhaps already worse than any government in living memory.

Here are the numbers sixteen to twenty of the top 50 things they have done wrong … so far…

16. NO NEW RUNWAYS FOR GATWICK, STANSTED OR HEATHROW
The ConDems have decided to block any new runways at London’s main three airports. Yet they have not put anything in place – like high speed rail – to replace this lost future capacity. Expansion at Heathrow was controversial and became a big election issue in South West London – however blocking all air capacity expansion puts a limit on how much London can grow and will deter inward investment.

Why is it a bad idea? This makes London much less attractive as a place to do business and sends a signal that the ConDem government is prepared to put short-term political gain before economic growth.

17. RETURN OF THE INTERNAL MARKET IN THE NHS
The ConDem coalition have decided to bring back the discredited internal market system where GPs hold budgets and different hospital services compete for their resources. £80bn of spending will be delegated to GPs.

Why is it a bad idea? It did not work in the 1980s and 1990s and will not work now. It increases bureaucracy, it means lots of duplication of paperwork, and it increases health inequalities. GPs will end up having to take decisions not based on patient needs, but on how much is in their remaining budgets. Pharma companies and private sector providers will have a very profitable time picking off GP practices with clever marketing and deals.

18. ENDING TARGETS FOR WAITING TIMES IN THE NHS
Health Secretary Andrew Lansley has ended the right of patients to see a family doctor within 48 hours and axed the 18-week target covering the period from hospital referral to start of treatment. The maximum 4 hour wait in Accident and Energency will also be scrapped and the government refuses to commit to Labour’s guarantee that you will see a cancer specialist within 2 weeks of being diagnosed with cancer.

Why is it a bad idea? These targets helped drive change and make the NHS more patient-focussed. Ending the targets is a way of cutting NHS funding and undermining the system by stealth. Professor Chris Ham, chief executive of health thinktank the King’s Fund, warned “targets have proved effective in driving down waiting times”.

19. ABANDONING HOUSE BUILDING TARGETS
Communities secretary Eric Pickles laid an order before parliament in July to scrap house building targets with immediate effect. The move will do away with regional strategies put in place by the Labour government with the aim of seeing 3 million new homes built across England by 2020.

Why is it a bad idea? These targets helped deliver thousands of new homes. Pickles thinks local authorities can be bribed to build more houses with the right to collect more council tax. However Tory authorities will now be able to refuse to build new social housing. Coupled with the policy of removing tenure rights (see below) this is a massive assault on the whole principle of social housing.

20. KICKING TENANTS OUT OF COUNCIL HOUSING
The Prime Minister has decided that it is no longer appropriate for council and social tenants to have “security of tenure”. His proposal is to limit the time someone can live in a council house to 5 or 10 years. This will mean older people whose children have left home, for example, will have to give up the house and move to a small flat. And people who get a house because they are having a small child will be forced out of the house before the child grows up.

Why is it a bad idea? Council houses are not just houses, they are homes. Just as much as anyone else’s home. Tenants pay rent and also often invest thousands of pounds over the years decorating and improving their properties. The answer to housing waiting lists is to build more homes, not to kick people out of the ones we already have. Protecting tenure in social housing was also an election pledge from the Tories – which turns out to be another broken promise. This proposal will result in thousands of people joining the private sector housing market, forcing up rents (and housing benefit costs) and creating a new army of slum landlords. It will split families and create broken homes. Don’t just take my word for it – Lib Dems, Tory MPs and lots of other people think this is a stupid idea.