We went to a TUC rally in support of the RCN at our local hospital this morning. Yesterday, I was at a hospital a long way away (because our NHS services are stretched out all over the region, now). I sat watching a tired nurse, trying to hold onto too many pieces of (metaphorical) string, go the extra mile for Someone. So often now, you can see they are only just holding it together, and still they go beyond the call of duty, and still the government fails to look after them properly. The business class opportunists we have for politicians are doing this ON PURPOSE so they can persuade us their business-friendly “reforms” are what the NHS needs. I am spitting mad.
At today’s rally, the local firefighters’ rep told the nurses the FBU are 100% behind the nurses strike. He spoke about the emergency services, and other NHS and public services, about their dedication to the NHS, that their work is what defines our country. He called shame on our government, for the nurses who are impacted both mentally and physically every day by the desperate, underfunded, understaffed state of our NHS.
A Green councillor said that their Party is the only one that supports #EnoughIsEnough. Sadly, that does not surprise me. I think I have seen councillors and party officers from every party except the Conservatives at recent #CostOfLivingCrisis and #DemandBetter and #EnoughIsEnough rallies (if anyone has seen a Tory at one, please let me know) but as far as I know, the Communists are the only ones with a sound enough political analysis to see through the privateers’ tricks, and I don’t think any mainstream party currently sees the importance of NHS Reinstatement (again, if you know different, please let me know).
A friend was trying to do a head-count, and reckoned the biggest group she could see at the rally were ex-Labour Party members. There were plenty of well-known trade unionists though, and XR people. I think at the next election, we’re going to have to watch all the parties very carefully, and push all the candidates towards what people actually need.
Hastings TUC Chair Simon Hester said that there are now 177 billionaires in the UK, and that a small fraction of the money this government has allowed to flow into their laps would solve the crisis in our NHS.
A local nurse said:
We want to be the nurses we were trained to be.
We are many, they are few.
Please support our NHS workers, and all our essential workers. I agree with Leo from the FBU – they are what define our country.
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Cheers,
Kay
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Kay Green 