Why Won't the Goverment Debate NHS E-petition?

[Guest]

In the 2010 election manifesto, the Tories promised that:

"With a Conservative government any petition that secures 100,000 signatures will be eligible for formal debate in parliament. The petition with the most signatures will enable members of the public to table a bill eligible to be voted on in parliament. And we will introduce a new public reading stage for bills to give the public an opportunity to comment on proposed legislation online."

There are now over 160,000 signatures on the e-petition (see article below) to debate the NHS Bill, but the Government shows no sign of honouring its pre-election promise.

Now I grant that this is not a Tory government and its coalition partners the Lib Dems don't have an unblemished record on honouring pre-election pledges Maybe if we keep the pressure up by collecting more and more e-signatures, the government will feel impelled to honour this pledge

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/mar/02/government-debate-health-bill-epetition?CMP=EMCSOCEML657

[Frances_iom]

In the 2010 election manifesto, the Tories promised that:...

amazing you of all people believing politicians - can you name a recent honourable member who has done so ? - the wiggle room here was 'eligible' - you are no doubt eligible to be elected next Archbishop of Canterbury but very unlikely you would be.

[amateur51]

amazing you of all people believing politicians - can you name a recent honourable member who has done so ? - the wiggle room here was 'eligible' - you are no doubt eligible to be elected next Archbishop of Canterbury but very unlikely you would be.

Frances I was hoping to create a little wiggle room in the coalition You of all people know the effect of a little 'working' on the brittleness factor in certain metals

[Frances_iom]

yes I too hoped that the Lib Dems would have broken the mould even tho I don't support all their policies - I guess my disappointment still hurts - what we have is still an unelectable Lab party 'led' by adenoidal kid who will not be able to live down his part in last Lab debacle, a baying rightwing tory barely held in check with a few Lib Dems who seem accident prone at best - both main parties share responsibility for the mess the UK is in - the NHS I doubt will survive - too many wolves (ie US companies) at its door for that

[teamsaint]

yes I too hoped that the Lib Dems would have broken the mould even tho I don't support all their policies - I guess my disappointment still hurts - what we have is still an unelectable Lab party 'led' by adenoidal kid who will not be able to live down his part in last Lab debacle, a baying rightwing tory barely held in check with a few Lib Dems who seem accident prone at best - both main parties share responsibility for the mess the UK is in - the NHS I doubt will survive - too many wolves (ie US companies) at its door for that

it is a real pity that your point about the wolves at the door is not better understood.
I read about this a good couple of years before the election, and indeed the whole nasty business is designed precisely in their interest.
If we think administration costs( and accessibility of services ) are bad now, just wait till they get to US levels.

As for politicians........lost faith in them a while ago. They are almost all part of the system.....and at that point they are never going to change anything.

[Frances_iom]

i..
If we think administration costs( and accessibility of services ) are bad now, just wait till they get to US levels.

no they will fine for the 30% who can afford it - the rest can go die in some corner as there's no money to be made from them (and the Coop already dominate the funeral industry)

[MrGongGong]

Now I grant that this is not a Tory government and its coalition partners the Lib Dems don't have an unblemished record on honouring pre-election pledges Maybe if we keep the pressure up by collecting more and more e-signatures, the government will feel impelled to honour this pledge

Of course they wont
they are completely without ethics, morals or integrity
and the so called "Lib Dems' are even worse for their complicity

I hope they suffer a fraction of what suffering they are inflicting on those most vulnerable in our society
it's a shame that god doesn't exist as there would at least be some justice in the next world

[Lateralthinking1]

In the 2010 election manifesto, the Tories promised that: "With a Conservative government any petition that secures 100,000 signatures will be eligible for formal debate in parliament. The petition with the most signatures will enable members of the public to table a bill eligible to be voted on in parliament. And we will introduce a new public reading stage for bills to give the public an opportunity to comment on proposed legislation online."

There are now over 160,000 signatures on the e-petition (see article below) to debate the NHS Bill, but the Government shows no sign of honouring its pre-election promise.

Now I grant that this is not a Tory government and its coalition partners the Lib Dems don't have an unblemished record on honouring pre-election pledges Maybe if we keep the pressure up by collecting more and more e-signatures, the government will feel impelled to honour this pledge

http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisf...P=EMCSOCEML657

I tried last week to get an e-petition going about manifesto commitments. It was difficult to word. Basically, the idea was that any party wishing to undertake significant structural reform would be required to include more detail in its manifesto and then stick to it. Relevant legislation beyond manifesto commitments could be undertaken temporarily in times of war and terrorism on the mainland but otherwise no. The submission was rejected on the grounds that there is already one on a similar topic.

[LeMartinPecheur]

There are now over 160,000 signatures on the e-petition (see article below) to debate the NHS Bill, but the Government shows no sign of honouring its pre-election promise

Um, perhaps I've imagined it but aren't there already quite a lot of parliamentary debates going on about the NHS reforms?? What good would one more do? Is it likely that the petition debate would have any different outcome to the others?

While I'm definitely on the side of the 160K who've signed the petition, and have joined other campaigns, in this case I think the gov't's action (inaction?) is justified. The petition system is surely about reform of laws already on the statute book, not opposition to those still under consideration.

But we can still hope that this petition will be noticed by ministers and MPs...