The Tory health service reforms, the last and most unpopular fruits of naked Thatcherism, are now a serious olecforal Fabilly for John Major and his governament Despido his desperate repetition of promises that he does not intend to curth term, the latest opinion poll for Sunday Times shows that only 25% of voters bellove him, white a massive 62% think he is lying!
Those who are already suspicious of Tory intentions are scarcely likely fo be convinced by the words of one of the government's own hand picked poitical appointees, NHS Chief Execu Ive Duncan Nichol, as he breaks the convention of traditional non-parly civi servanis to a00 mis two pen nyworth to the Tory propaganda offort.
Voters have memories on the NHS. Many remember Thatcher in 1979 insisting that if she were elected she gos. Then they wore 20p: within 6 months they were 45p; now they are €3.401 The Tores also used to deny that they woul impose charges for health care: but since then we have had char. ges imposed on eye fests and dectal heck-ups, with soaraway charges for In 1983 and again in 1987 Thatcher cynically insisted that the NHS was 'safe in cur hands": each time the election was followed by drastic cash cuts and closures of thousands of hospital The biggest-ever 1987-88 winter crisis triggered strikes by nurses - and was folkwed by the Thatcher review that led to the wild marketisation schemes now emboded in the NHS and Community Care Act. Not one of those proposals - which include hospe tal opt-cuts and the internal market -Already the first six months of the government's urpopular NHS reloems have reduced our heath service to a shambles. T