When some insults are a complement

The left have flung more than a few insults at the Conservatives in general and Theresa May in particular over the last few days.

One of the most powerful unintended complements was to call her "Magpie May" for taking ideas from other parties.

That is only a problem if the ideas being stolen are bad ideas.

For heaven's sake, have we not had enough of the "Not Invented Here" syndrome?

The Conservative party is quite open about nicking ideas from other parties and if the ideas concerned are good ideas that is exactly what we ought to do.

Indeed, one or two of the Conservative proposals which came under most flak from the Labour party this week were actually remarkably similar to ideas previously proposed by Ed Miliband.

The only sillier criticism this week was of the fact that finally, after decades of failing to invest enough money training doctors, Jeremy Hunt has at long last announced that we will train as many doctors as the NHS needs.

Frankly, I am absolutely delighted that this policy is being adopted, indeed it is an absolute disgrace that no government of any party did it decades ago.

Yet this long overdue outbreak of sanity is being attacked because training the number of doctors we actually need is being presented in some quarters as a piece of sectarian nativism and (wrongly) described as "sending foreign doctors home."

Excuse me while I scream ...

Comments

Jim said…
One of the best things the conservative party have done in government is to adopt the Lib Dem policy of raising the income tax threshold. Then continue increasing it when no longer in coalition.

Anyone who has lived with Copeland BC knows that "not invented here syndrome" does not help matters at all.
1:07 pm
Chris Whiteside said…
Entirely agree. This was one of the coalition government's most successful policies and as you rightly say, has continued after the end of the coalition.
1:15 pm
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