When will it end - part two

It seems that the hypocrisy within the Labour Government really knows no bounds. Government Ministers and other Labour MP's publicly protesting against their own policies is a new low for even this Government, but now it appears that a Junior Health Minister is also standing with his local constituents to protest at the closure of a maternity unit in Bury.

Mr Ivan Lewis, who is the Parliamentary Under Secretary of State for Care Services , has admitted he was opposing cuts to a hospital in his constituency.

Mr Lewis’s admission is the most potentially damaging yet for the Government as he has personal access to Health Secretary Patricia Hewitt and is responsible for hospital policy

Under changes backed by the Government, maternity units across the north of Manchester are to be closed and replaced by a regional centre, despite huge public opposition.

Mr Lewis said today that the overall change was right in principle but he opposed the exact details of which units should close.

"Under the proposals, Bury, Rochdale, Rossendale and Heywood, a whole chunk of Greater Manchester, will be left without maternity services. My argument is I fully support the need for change — the status quo isn’t right in terms of safety or quality. But in terms of geography, there remains a strong case as part of that reconfiguration for a unit to remain at Bury," he said.

Finally the effect of NU Labour policies is directly affecting their own Ministers and MP's and they are scared they may lose their own seats. They are part of the decision, collective responsibility and all that, so at least have the decency to uphold your own policies, or for every one's sake, just go, now.

Now health minister fights axe for local maternity unit