The NHS …Warts and all .. Is still great

I have been away from the National Health Service (NHS) for almost 4 years after a long career of over 35 years working inside it.

The NHS is the third largest employer in the world after the Chinese Army and the Indian Railways.

The NHS celebrated its 60th birthday in July 2008 having been created as part of the radical, reforming Labour Government of post Second World War Britain in 1948. The NHS was a fundamental part of the new Welfare State.

The founder of the NHS was the eloquent Welsh MP Aneurin Bevan. Among Mr Bevan's many wonderful quotes was this one that I love most;

‘No longer will wealth be an advantage nor poverty a disadvantage. Healthcare will be provided free of charge based on clinical need and not on ability to pay.’

Call me old fashioned if you like but this statement from the great man underpins why our NHS is still the envy of many parts of the world.

What we forget sometimes in Britain is that our health service is a UNIVERSAL service provided to all citizens based on clinical need.

It has been good for me to be away from the NHS for almost 4 years because I have been able to see the service from ‘outside’ and I admit I have sometimes been critical of what I see.

However in recent discussions on Tom Peters Blog I’ve been delighted to see so many people praising the NHS. Dare I suggest there have even been some envious glances from our friends across the pond that we have a well established and (generally) well-loved universal healthcare system?

I will continue to criticise the NHS where it fails patients and their families but let me be clear about something.

Until I see hard evidence that a privately funded healthcare system provides at least as good a service to the WHOLE population of Britain as the NHS currently provides I will continue to promote the NHS as the right way to organise the healthcare for the ENTIRE population.

It is simply not good enough to make shallow unproven throw-away woolly statements like ‘the market must decide.’

One key criterion of how a country should be judged is surely how it treats it most vulnerable and most ill citizens. In Britain I feel we can and should be very proud that successive governments since 1948 have not seen fit to move away from universal healthcare provided through the tax funded NHS and I for one hope we never do.

To Centralise or to Decentralise .. That is the question ...

Once upon a time when I worked as a manager in the National Health Service (NHS)we were doing some community development work in a rural area of Devon called Dartmoor.

We wanted to ask local people their experiences of local health services and also get their views about how services might be improved.

We decided to hold meetings with residents in the three biggest towns on Dartmoor and a couple of small villages to get what we thought were representative opinions from people living on Dartmoor.

We duly wrote the report of our findings and held a series of meetings to discuss those findings with local people. I remember very clearly going to a village hall in deepest, darkest Dartmoor in a very tiny village called Lustleigh to talk to the locals about our findings.

They asked me whether our research had included opinions from people living in Lustleigh – population about 150 people (plus a few sheep) I replied that we had drawn conclusions from meetings with a cross section of people who lived on Dartmoor, including some who lived in a larger village less than 3 miles away where we had held one of our metings with local residents. The ‘Lustleigh folks’ immediately became indignant and objected that the views of people living in a village 3 miles away should in any way be seen to represent of the views of people living in Lustleigh. They were right of course and we were wrong.

The point of this true story is to get your opinions about the merits of centralisation versus decentralisation - local or national - and what do we actually mean by all these terms.

We can also include in the discussion the relative merits of centralisation and decentralisation within management and organisations.

In the UK National Health Service there are genuine attempts to get decision making down to a more local level and there are still many critics who believe too much power is vested in central government.

This posting has been promoted by my friend David Wike and I would be fascinated to hear comments from readers with different experiences and opinions about preferred options of centralise or decentralise the power.

For instance; what, if anything, needs to remain central? Or alternatively – what just cannot be decentralised?

Thanks David – I hope we get some responses

Smoking Ban Works!

Generally speaking I am not a fan of governments telling us what to do. Quite the opposite in fact, I am a great believer in citizens determining their own future through community development and ‘bottom up’ planning.

However there are times when direction from above is very effective and this week we’ve seen a great example.

The smoking ban in public places is one year old this week and it is reported that 400,000 smokers have quit since the ban was introduced.

That is fantastic news.

I think we should celebrate it and thank the government for the positive leadership. It’s not a party political point scoring thing on my part – just a statement of fact.

Sometimes we just have to be told what is good for us.

It's an almighty 'screw-up' Gordon.

Sometimes speaking the 4 words ‘I told you so’ can give one pleasure because we can feel smug when we are proved right. On this occasion, as a life-long Labour Party supporter I take absolutely no pleasure in saying ‘I told you so’

More than 7 months ago, I wrote on this Blog that I thought it was a huge tactical error on Gordon Brown’s part not to call a General Election immediately after he became leader of the Labour Party and our Prime Minister, succeeding Tony Blair.

At that time Gordon was still on his ‘honeymoon’ as PM. Everything in the garden appeared rosy. He was miles ahead of his rival David Cameron, the leader of the Tory Party in the opinion polls as the most suitable person to be Prime Minister. The Labour Party was way ahead of the Tories in the polls as the most electable party. How times change.

I believe if he had gone for a snap election last Autumn he would have won a comfortable majority. He would have had the comfort of knowing he had 5 years to stabilise things and build a Government that had his stamp on it.

Instead, he dithered and dallied and decided in the end not to go for the election – presumably advised by people closest to him. How come, if someone like me can see something as obvious as the nose on Gordon Brown's face, the massive machinery of the Labour party cannot see it?

I am not some sort of ‘expert’ on such things. It just goes to prove my long held view that the word ‘expert’ must always be challenged.

We are now faced with the certain defeat – probably obliteration - of the Labour Party at the next General Election in approximately 18 months from now. If that happens, Gordon Brown will be remembered as a dithering, indecisive, incompetent leader who snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.

And yet ….. It could have been so different.

Four more words spring to mind - ‘I hope I’m wrong’ - Sorry Gordon – I think you've screwed up big time - we will see.

Where are our world Icons?

I‘ve been thinking about the great world icons of the last 100 years who are best remembered for their integrity, their caring, their humility, their compassion, their selflessness and their desire to improve the lives of millions through peace.

Martin Luther King, Mother Theresa, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela and Desmond Tutu are the five that spring to my mind immediately. These people have an aura and an authenticity that makes them outstanding leaders.

I look around and wonder where our icons of today are?

One place I will certainly not look to is politics. With the notable exception of my hero Tony Benn I see politicians who are opportunists, blatant self-promoters, all looking and sounding the same and they show no evidence whatsoever of selflessness, compassion or humility.

Maybe I look in the wrong places (I don’t think so).

Can you identify anyone on the world stage in 2008 that will be remembered with the same affection and respect of a Nelson Mandela, Mahatma Gandhi or Martin Luther-King?

I can’t.

William Wilberforce - A 'fanatic' who changed the world for the better

I’m sure the word ‘fanatic’ sparks different emotions for all of us.

‘Fanatic’ can be a description of an extremist, even a dangerous person … or not

William Wilberforce, the famous Member of Parliament (MP) was described recently by the Archbishop of Canterbury as the greatest Englishman of the last millennium.

As a Christian and an MP, William Wilberforce led the battle, for 20 years, to abolish the British Slave Trade. He was hated by many because slavery was big business and people ‘in the business’ were strongly against abolition because their livelihood would be threatened.

Nevertheless Wilberforce remained single minded and determined mainly because of his faith in God. Despite numerous defeats of his Bills to abolish the Slave Trade in the House of Commons he persevered.

Eventually the British Slave Trade was abolished in 1807. Wilberforce carried on for another 27 years leading the battle for slavery itself to be abolished. Three days after the abolition of slavery Wilberforce died.

He had battled for almost 50 years to rid the world of this appalling testimony in the history of mankind.

At the height of his battles Wilberforce was described as a ‘fanatic’ by his many opponents. In a speech to the House of Commons, William Wilberforce said;

“If to be feeling alive to all sufferings of my fellow creatures and to be warmed with the desire of relieving their distress, is to be a fanatic, I am one of the most incurable fanatics ever permitted to be at large.”

What fabulous words from an incredible man.

Honest Guvnor - We are not stupid!

I have just started a series of 9 leadership training sessions for 37 employees who work in the ‘care industry.’ These are front line folks aspiring to be leaders and it has rekindled my passion for studying leadership.

I did my MA Management (Healthcare) at the University of Plymouth for 3 years from 1996-98 and my dissertation is called ‘Leadership in Practice’ which was the final 20,000 word piece of my qualification.

For those who enjoy reading I’m happy to share my dissertation. Just send me an email at trevor.simplicity@gmail.com

In revisiting my dissertation I came across discussions I had at the time with ‘followers’ of leaders and how most of all wanted they want their leader to be authentic.

This brings me to recent TV appearances of our Prime Minister, Gordon Brown.

I have been very fortunate to meet Mr Brown a few times in the last year or so in both small group settings and large gatherings. I liked what I saw. On each occasion one thing that comes across is his concern for people and his interest in them. I admit he does not come across as a particularly extrovert or charismatic person but that didn’t matter to me because he seemed authentic.

The image folks have so obviously been trying to ‘change’ Gordon’s image because I have noticed a few things:

*Gordon is ‘smiling’ much more - and the smile just does not look genuine – actually Gordon, let's be brutal - it looks less genuine than Paul Daniels wig. So contrived!

*Last week there was a TV news item showing Gordon talking ‘live’ to an American TV audience on some charity show in the States about a large donation the UK is making. Gordon looked like he was advertising toothpaste such was his wide permanent smile - it was so ‘cheesy’ it was embarrassing quite frankly as a British citizen. So contrived!

*Yesterday when he met the 3 US Presidential candidates he had exactly the same time with each of the 3 and the walk he did along that corridor was identical even down to the hand gestures and the eye contact with each of the 3. So contrived!

This is not leadership – this is ACTING – and Gordon, sorry to say, you are not a good actor. Please leave that to the folks from Equity. Sometimes it is better to be told the truth by people who like us – even if the truth hurts.

Dare I suggest Gordon is trying hard – and failing miserably – to become as charismatic as Tony Blair? We just don’t ‘become’ charismatic – we either are or we are not – and it doesn’t matter if we are not - as long as we are authentic

It reminds me of the days back in the 1980's when Mrs Thatcher was 'worked on' by the image people to try and make her come across as a ‘caring’ person ….. That was just as impossible and silly as it is to make Gordon Brown appear 'warm' and 'cuddly.'

FOR CRYING OUT LOUD GIVE US CREDIT FOR SOME INTELLIGENCE - WE HAVE NOT JUST FALLEN OFF THE CHRISTMAS TREE – WE CAN SEE RIGHT THROUGH THIS.

The most annoying thing about politicians as far as I’m concerned is that too many of them lose their authenticity and therefore credibility when they allow the image folks to take over. I’m sorry to say it appears Gordon Brown is now more concerned about his image than his authenticity.

Sorry Gordon – this does not fit with you I’m afraid and I am sad about that ‘cos actually, I like you!

I MAKE THIS PLEA TO GORDON - TAKE A LEAF OUT OF TONY BENN’S BOOK PLEASE ….. AND JUST BE YOU.

Maybe I have misread the signs and Gordon really has had an epiphany!!

I fear not …..

Tony Benn - the ultimate hero

Annie and I went to see my all time political hero Tony Benn last night (Thursday) in Birmingham Town Hall. The event was called 'An evening with Tony Benn'

Here are a few facts:

*Tony will be 83 in a couple of weeks
*He spent over 50 years as a Member of Parliament
*He is as sharp as a tack and bright as a button mentally
*Birmingham Town Hall was sold out with almost 1000 people in the audience
*Tony got a standing ovation

Here are two wonderful quotes from two hours of brilliant oratory

‘If you are looking for a leader don’t look up to a platform – look next door’

‘My country is the world – my religion is to do good’

I am unashamedly biased but I do not think there can be a better role model in politics for integrity, commonsense and honesty than Tony Benn.

I pray that he carries on campaigning and working for many more years to come.

If you want to see Tony in action passionately illustrating his beliefs take a look at this UTube clip of Tony where he takes US spokesman John Bolton to task on BBC TV Question Time.

Thanks Tony for yet more inspiration. Good men are few.

'A More Perfect Union' - Barack Obama

Regardless of political views I hope you will find time to listen in full (37 minutes) to this wonderful speech of Barack Obama. His pride and love for America is fantastic to see and hear. It seems to me from this speech he is doing all he can to address ‘head on’ the controversial issue of race in a very even handed, conciliatory way.

This is not a speech about conflict between black and white. It is about how everyone has something to bring to the table - we all have gifts

As far as I am concerned it is wonderful hear a politician speak from the heart. He is a terrific speaker. His freshness, optimism and pragmatism appeal to me and I wish him well in the forthcoming Presidential Election.

Question Time feedback

Question Time summary from my own selfish perspective:

Jacquie Smith – The Home Secretary did herself no favours. She waffled through many answers and rarely gave it straight. Mind you that qualification seems to be the way to advance in modern day politics. I have been a proud Labour supporter all my voting life, and I’m so sorry to say this, but people like her put doubts in my mind!

Liam Fox – Conservative Shadow Defence Minister – he was even less decisive and the line he walked reminded me of the line walked by a drunk in the early hours of a Saturday morning in Coventry City centre. I ask myself, would I want him to be in charge of defence if Britain is ever invaded? …. Maybe ‘de’ garden fence but that’s about all!

Kevin Maguire - Daily Mirror Political editor. At least he was honest and the closest to reality of the five panel members by a mile. He kept it simple and was persuasive. He was far and away the best of the bunch.

Chris Huhne - Liberal Democrat deputy leader. I thought he was the best of the four politicians and I was impressed. I knew very little of him before last night but he has definitely made an impression on me

Louise Bagshawe – Author and Conservative Parliamentary candidate for Corby. She was right of Genghis Kahn in respect of ‘sorting out’ children who step out of line at school - kids that sound pretty normal to me actually. If she stood as the only candidate in Britain I would vote for someone else. She seems to think the solution to any child misbehaving at school is instant expulsion. Maybe she could just perhaps ask some of the children excluded why it happened rather than make statements about what 'punishment' they deserve.

Overall feeling – Annie and I both enjoyed the experience of being audience member on Question Time and David Dimbleby as Chairman was excellent – 10 out of 10 for him.

As for three of the four politicians (Chris Huhne excluded) … what a dull zero-charisma lot they are.

If only someone like Tony Benn could have been there to rattle a few cages and tell a few truths … at least there would have been some raw emotion and passion.

If this three are among the elite, or up and coming, of our current politicians in Britain then I say God help us.

You're NEVER too old!

When I was 16 years old and just starting out on my career in healthcare I thought anyone who had reached 30 was pretty old; people of 40 were well past it and their ambition must have gone; if they were 50 they were old and looking forward to retirement therefore they were slowing down; anyone beyond 60 and still working was ancient, eccentric and needed to be pushed out.

Although now I feel pretty awful about it, those very discriminatory statements were fairly typical of me and my fellow teenagers.

HOW MY OPINIONS HAVE CHANGED!

Most of you will jump to the obvious conclusion that as I am now in my 55th year ‘He would say that wouldn’t he?’

You are right - Of course I have a personal interest in saying that people of my generation are ‘younger’ (emotionally if not chronologically) than when I was 16,

BUT

I genuinely believe they (we) are!!

I see absolutely no reason why I cannot be working productively and enthusiastically for many years to come. OK, I will probably be more selective about what work I actually do but I see no reason to suppose I won’t have the energy and mindset to try and make a difference in business, leadership and management well into my 70’s.

People who have worked in management positions for a few years offer terrific experience.

BUT ONE MYTH I WOULD LIKE TO DISPEL IS THAT EXPERIENCE NECESSARILY EQUALS KNOWLEDGE OR COMPETENCE.

I think as we get older we must resist the temptation to rest on our laurels, because we have been round the block a few times, and simply say – ‘We have experience to offer’

Experience is not enough.

In addition we have to offer passion, enthusiasm, optimism, integrity, leadership and role-model behaviour. We also still need to retain within us a small bit of that rebellious teenager who wants to make a difference.

I love the quote generously given to me by one of my heroes 82 years young, Tony Benn;

“Having left Parliament to devote more time to politics I am free: Lots of experience and no personal ambition. I can't wait for April 3 2025 when I shall have completed my first hundred years and a new century of work begins” - Tony Benn

I’ll drink to that Tony!

By the way – The Tony Benn Diaries 2001–2007 that I am currently reading is a wonderful book.

Its title is ‘More Time for Politics’– loads of common sense, simplicity, integrity and passion from an inspiring man.

The book also reveals a lot about Tony Benn, the person, with many honest and intimate expressions of his feelings about his life and his family of which he is justifiably proud.

The same old, same old .....

And so a new year back at work starts in earnest today.

Have you noticed that when the pressure is on politicians in Britain they always fall back on the good old NHS to score them a few points with the public?

Anyone with an IQ above freezing point will realise it’s not a co-incidence that as Gordon Brown struggles to establish himself with voters he turns to the NHS to boost his popularity with voters.

Today Mr Brown tells us that patients will be given the opportunity to have screening if they are concerned about any aspect of their health - for instance heart disease.

Don’t get me wrong I welcome such initiatives because I have argued for over 20 years the government must spend more money on ill-health prevention and promotion of good health.

And this not a slur on Gordon Brown – I like the man and I am life long supporter of the Labour Party.

What irritates me is the blatant use of the NHS for political ends when it suits politicians. It’s the same old stale politics I’m afraid.

Where are the new exciting politicians in Britain - or even just someone with a personality?!!

I don’t see a single MP who makes me feel that 2008 will be any different than the same old drab, stale politics?

I hope I am wrong.

Mr Obama - Winning hearts and minds?

I don’t have much knowledge of American politics and I suppose it is none of my business but I wanted to make a comment about the Presidential race.

How refreshing it is to see a young man like Barack Obama talking with optimism and passion. I have read in the American media how he has won hearts and minds and that to me is more important than any criticism of lack of depth or experience. When hearts and minds are 'up for grabs' it often means people are desperate for change.

I am sure many critics will say he is not experienced enough but I love this quote;

“Yes I know I am young and inexperienced but it is a fault I am remedying every day.” William Pitt on becoming Prime Minister at age 25 in 1783

Media opposition and political opponents will find other reasons to argue against Mr Obama - because that is what politics is all about it seems to me. How much can I smear my opponent?

In the 37 years I have been old enough to vote I have noticed that there is far more emphasis on knocking your opponent than putting forward your own ideas for change.

It is a long race to the White House and there will be many twists and turns before the final decision is reached by US voters in November this year.

For now I want to enjoy the feeling of having someone in the world spotlight that exudes energy, enthusiasm and passion the like of which we have not seen for the last few years on the world stage.

Most leaders in world politics in the last 10 years have been males who are charisma-challenged, boring, white, middle-aged, middle-class, out of the same mass produced mould.

Mr Obama seems different – I hope he is different and I wish him well.

A trip to London

The spectacular Canary Wharf, London

I spoke to a group of 25 dentists in London on Thursday evening about the value of patient feedback leading to improvements in services.

The great news is that it seemed to go down well which I was delighted about because dentists in the National Health Service are often portrayed as 'stuck in the mud' old school folks who do not want to change. Nothing could be further from the truth.

This group of dentists seemed to take on board the concept of listening to patient feedback and making changes as a result

So I felt good that it was a worthwhile visit to the smoke …

On the way back from the meeting I got chatting on the train in London to a young American lad (probably late 20’s) who had moved to London from Chicago four months ago. He worked in the financial quarter of London in the Canary Wharf area - which by the way is a spectacular sight at night from the train on the journey back into Central London. The young American was telling me how much he loved London and the English lifestyle. It made me feel very proud of my great country.

One thing he said was how he finds it odd that Brits are generally so miserable first thing in the morning at his office. He is obviously getting to know the average Brit pretty well methinks!

He told me he believes London will become the financial capital of the world in the near future. Already he tells me London is the financial capital of Europe and is challenging New York and Hong Kong for the number one spot in the world.

Tony Blair could not have been all that bad after all.

As regular readers of Simplicity Blog will know I am a great fan of TB. I realise I am now in a great minority - but hey come on – that has often been true of my opinions so why change the habit of a lifetime of being in a minority?!

Mr Brown - Wake up and smell the coffee!

I am disappointed and disillusioned with Politics right now.

I’ve never made it a secret on Simplicity Blog I have been a Labour supporter all my life. This goes back to my formative years and my upbringing I think rather than some well argued decision I came to. My late beloved Dad was a Trade Union member working in a car factory and that is where I got much of my political views from. Dad was a staunch Labour Party supporter.

When Tony Blair became Prime Minister in 1997 I was really excited.

I felt in 1997 that - at last - after many years of Conservative Government – we had a young man with new ideas who was going to bring a smile to our faces and some passion to the political scene.

And he did.

Until the Iraq conflict make no mistake Tony Blair was flying high in the opinion polls and don’t forget he won three General Election which is something never achieved by any other Labour leader.

I think it desperately sad to watch senior members of the Labour Party (particularly the PM Gordon Brown, who I like) running away, like scared animals, from crisis after crisis. It feels to me like we hear nothing but excuses for things that have gone wrong rather than exciting plans for new ways ahead for our country.

I think we need a General Election desperately and the way things are going with this latest crisis about donations to the Labour Party I suspect we might be having a General Election sooner than Mr Brown had planned.

George Galloway - Rascal or Realist?

George Galloway is one of those politicians that people tend to either love or hate. I neither love nor hate the man. I am intrigued more than anything else.

George is a man of principle and he really speaks his mind. Anyone - friend or enemy - who watched him take on and beat the US Senate in his evidence about the Iraq war will admit that he is a man with great experience and knowledge about the Middle East troubles. He has studied this for more than 30 years I gather.

He appeared on BBC Question Time on Thursday night. The other four panel members were overshadowed completely, not only by George’s gift of superb speaking, but also by his intimate knowledge of the Middle East.

Whether people like George Galloway or not is not the issue actually as far as I am concerned.

He is enormously popular as a working MP in his constituency in London and he is very popular on his Radio phone in programme on Talksport.

I would be very worried about picking an argument with him on the history of the Middle East and on Question Time I would say he was streets ahead of his fellow politicians on the panel as far as knowledge of the Middle East goes.

George is one of those frustrating people as far as I am concerned.

In some ways I can’t stand him and yet in other ways I admire him tremendously.

It is not as simple as right and wrong methinks.

A leader in our times?

I enjoy reading about politicians and leaders of the day from a few decades ago.

I often let my mind wander to try and imagine whether those same people would have the same impact in the modern world.

I think many of today’s political leaders rely far too much on technology and exposure in the media to create an image.

What will people be saying about modern day leaders in 60 years time? What will history record about Tony Blair and George Bush compared with Winston Churchill and John Kennedy?

Although I am not well read about American political history I think I am right in saying that Richard Nixon was perhaps the first politician to suffer as a result of his image and how he came across on TV.

Well before the Watergate scandal, Nixon was beaten hands down in a live TV debate by the young, good looking and charismatic John Kennedy. It is argued that single TV debate went a long way toward Kennedy actually winning the Presidential Election in 1960.

The traditional view I hold is probably out of date and way behind time.

I would much rather vote for a person with humility, integrity and competence rather than someone with charisma and TV appeal. I frankly don’t care what they may look like on TV or what school they went to.

But then again I am probably just getting older ……

'There is a passion in Benn's writing and speaking that far transcends the miserable aspirations of most contemporary politicians' Paul Foot, Guardian

I finally got to meet Tony Benn last night!

What a fabulous man – he spoke without notes for 40 minutes then answered questions for another 45 minutes.

The person who introduced Tony last night said, quoting from one of the reviews of his new book. 'Tony Benn is a player'

I think that is a great description of the man. Many politicans today are 'spectators' and change to suit the latest opinion poll. Paul Foot's description above is also right on the button.

Absolutely brilliant – no hesitation in his speech, no uncertainty of thought, mentally ‘sharp as a tack’ and looking great physically. Not bad for 82 years of age and 51 years as a Labour MP.

Tony retired in 2001 as an MP - as he puts it - ‘to spend more time on politics’

He is now 82 and busier than ever. He is a cult figure to young people who want to see change and he is now regarded as the most loved politician in Britain – he speaks every year at the world famous Glastonbury rock festival to thousands of young people!

He takes part in every anti-war demonstration in the UK and his diary of speaking engagements is full. He regularly appears on our national media outlets both radio and TV. Tony puts many 40 year old men to shame with his energy and passion.

Last night Annie and I went to see him speak at the Birmingham Book Festival - he was guest speaker for the week of the festival. The occasion marked the publication of his latest book – ‘More Time for Politics’ – It is really Tony’s diaries from 2001 to 2007 and I bought a copy. I've read the first few pages and it is riveting stuff, brutally honest and as you would expect from Tony, no punches pulled. I highly recommend it.

This got me thinking …

I have another 27 years before I am 82 – so I now know I have only just started!!

Tony is the best role model I have come across – his skills, talent and experience are only exceeded by his honesty, humility and integrity. If I can be remembered for my honesty, integrity and humility, that will be good enough for me.

At the end of his talk Tony said;

‘Someone asked me the other day what would I like on my tombstone … I thought ... That’s a cheerful question … I thought about it and said … All I want is ‘He encouraged us’

That is awesome and says it all about the man!

We are going to hear Tony Benn speak on Wednesday!

Some more great Tony Benn wisdom:

‘It’s one thing to die for your faith but another thing to kill for your doctrine

‘Fear is a prison you put yourself in’

‘The cure for admiring the House of Lords is to visit them’

‘Ask these questions of anyone with power:

1 What power have you got?
2 Where did you get it from?
3 In whose interest do you exercise it?
4 To whom are you accountable?
5 How can we get rid of you?’

Gordon's First Screw Up?

It’s really interesting to me that Gordon Brown is under fire because he has - according to the media – misled the great British public.

Media reports this morning say he has made a u-turn about calling a General Election and they are suggesting he is a weak leader because of this.

Actually, as far as I’m aware, Gordon Brown himself has never even hinted there will be an early election. He has not stated publicly that he is even contemplating calling a snap election. I have drawn my own conclusion that the people close to him must have leaked information to the press which in turn led to the media frenzy over the last week or so about an early election.

This is a massive reminder of the ability of the media to whip up an issue and how easily it can get out of control therefore creating a story out of something that may not even be a story. It is surely a wake up call to all politicians.

The criticism I have of Mr Brown in this shambles is that he should have spoken out earlier to prevent unnecessary and damaging publicity for him personally. He could have said two weeks ago he had no intention of calling an election and none of this would have happened. I think that is a tactical mistake on his part. He has now said that, albeit a bit late. I suspect he will regret not speaking out earlier but it is too late and I’m sure he will have learned.

Politics is about scoring points with the voters and the Tories have won this battle there is no doubt. In the short term I think Mr Brown has been damaged.

Time alone will tell whether that damage is just a temporary blip or a lasting wound.

When I was Head of Communications in a National Health Service Organisation I spoke to press reporters almost every day and often many times a day. I always said 'the press is our friend' and I was often criticised by colleague managers in the NHS for saying that.

My rationale was (and still is) that the press have an important and necessary job to do. They will write a story whether we like it or not.

If we don't give the press accurate information – usually called THE TRUTH - we should not be surprised when they speculate. That speculation then develops 'a life of its own' and wrongly becomes the perceived truth .... Even if it is not! They have column inches to fill with words. That is their job. Hope that mini-rant makes sense!

Key Learning Points

*Talk to the Press - they have an important job
*Talk to them early
*Talk to them regularly
*Tell them the truth