Could there have been a worse day to be away?

Could there have been a worse day to be away?

Today, I am in Malta. A friend and I are on holiday here. We have had a lovely day, exploring the capital, Valletta, which has an extraordinary array of sights to see and savour. We barely scratched the surface. I was proud of my country, proud of showing it off, proud to be able to wander round the Archaeological Museum and watch my friend be completely mesmerised, even though he has travelled widely in the Mediterranean basin and beyond. This should have been a day of unalloyed pleasure.

Sadly, it was not. As we walked the streets of Valletta, as I showed him the wonder that is St. John’s Cathedral, and as we both stood in wonder before Caravaggio’s magnificent ‘Beheading of St. John the Baptist (is there a more evocative painting?), my mind and heart were back in England, back with my NHS colleagues as they protested valiantly against the Health and Social Care Bill.

Today there was a major rally to protest against the Health and Social Care Bill, that pernicious piece of legislation that will lay the NHS open to competition law, which will increase health inequalities, which will endanger the health of our children. I feel guilty because I was not there, even though one more person could not have made a difference. But this was a day for us all to stand up and be counted; to brave the outrage of the government and ensure that our voices were raised in voluble support for this most precious of institutions.

The tactics employed in the last few weeks have been despicable and, I believe, deeply anti-democratic. I quote from a colleague:

‘In a cynical manipulation of Parliamentary protocol, the Government has 
told the Liberal Democrats that they will implement all the Clegg /
Williams amendments once the Health and Social Care Bill is passed, in 
return for the LibDem peers not debating them, and voting against all
 forthcoming opposition amendments. Earl Howe will merely make a 
statement instead of initiating a debate in the Lords. This means that 
not only will there be no debate on Clegg / Williams, but more 
importantly, no votes will take place. With no opportunity for
 Government defeat on a vote the bill goes back to the Commons for 
approval with no possibility of returning to the Lords.’

This is outrageous. In a totally bizarre moment this week, the LibDems voted against their own amendments rather than risk defeating the government.

When did we lose democracy? At what moment, when our backs were turned, were we suddenly turned into a bunch of yes men and women who could be ridden over rough shod? I do not believe this is what England is about. I am a colonial – I grew up on tales of English exploits and, more importantly, on a certainty that England stood for honour and principles. There is no honour here, no principles. So I am ashamed – of my adopted country and, more, of myself - that I was not there. I shall not fail again. I pray that our parliament may also find again the sense of honour that it has lost.