I'd be interested in what people think about the LibDem Conference NHS ruling

[non sociopath skin]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-14960359

A more cynical man than I might think, in the face of this, that the much-hyped Lib Dem opposition in the Lords lies somewhere between window-dressing and bet-hedging.

The Skin

[LeftishBrit]

1. 235 for, 183 against - the noes win?

Sounds like the way the American congressional rules operate to prevent people doing anything sensible. You can't get anything done without 60 votes in the Senate - at least when the president is a Democrat.

Sounds like the LDs are very internally divided and the Cleggies trying to keep a lid on the rebellions. Eventually something will probably explode, but by then the LDs may scarcely exist any more anyway.

As regards the House of Lords: I hope that some opposition will take place. It depends on the crossbenchers as well as the parties, so it's hard to predict. *But* I think that if the NHS is rescued from destruction, it mayultimately be most of all from within. Its salvation may come not so much from anyone in Parliament, as from doctors and nurses and other health workers and patients refusing to co-operate with the worst of the plans. But this may not in the end be enough to withstand the onslaught.