Anger as ward at Hartlepool Hospital closes October 19, 2004
Posted by in : News , comments closedResponding to the news that Hartlepool Hospital Gynaecology Unit is to be closed just 15 days after the by-election, Jody Dunn says:
“This closure announcement will be seen as the people of Hartlepool as disgraceful and highly cynical.
“It is now widely accepted that this Government will say and do anything to win elections. After all that Tony Blair and John Reid promised, we now have this announcement of ward closure.
“The Lib Dems had real foundation for concerns about the hospital – we are sad to be proved right in this way.
“I will be looking for an early meeting with the hospital authorities.”
Gynaecology patients admitted to the hospital were previously treated in the ward, but will now be cared for in a female surgical ward. The move has been rapped by Dave Armstrong, regional officer for UNISON, who says the decision is a downgrade of services.
He criticised Hartlepool’s new MP Iain Wright, who pledged there would be no downgrading of services in last month’s by-election. Mr Armstrong said: “It’s disappointing considering the guarantees that were being given during the by-election campaign.
“If you’re going to improve services, you make services in addition to existing ones, you don’t replace them. It doesn’t sound to me like it’s an improvement, it sounds like it’s a re-jig of resources.”
The Tory view on Hartlepool: “a f****** awful result” October 2, 2004
Posted by in : News , comments closedA mood of gloom is hanging over the Tory Party on the eve of their Party conference following their slump into 4th place in the Hartlepool by-election.
Hartlepool was the first time since the middle of the last century that the main opposition party had sunk to fourth place in an English parliamentary election.
Conservative Defence Spokesman Nicolas Soames was the most blunt in his analysis, describing the Conservative performance as “a f****** awful result”.
David Willetts, Conservative work and pensions spokesman, said: “This is very disappointing. There is no point in pretending otherwise.” This was echoed by Tory Party co-chairman Liam Fox tried to play down the poor showing. He said:
“This is a disappointing result for us. But this is a story about Labour. This is a disastrous result for them. It demonstrates a complete collapse in trust for Tony Blair.”
Boris Johnson, Conservative arts minister, last night described the result as a “bummer”.
Hughes: Three party politics is here to stay October 2, 2004
Posted by in : News , comments closedCommenting on the Hartlepool by-election result, Simon Hughes MP, Liberal Democrat Party President, said:
“This is another excellent result for the Liberal Democrats, maintaining our momentum.
“Across the length and breadth of England two party politics is over and three party politics is here to stay.
“This has been totally disastrous for the Conservatives who have been humiliated into fourth place. What it underlines is that the Liberal Democrats are the real opposition in British politics.”
Jody Slashes Labour Majority – Tories Plummet to Fourth October 1, 2004
Posted by in : News , comments closedJody Dunn took the Liberal Democrats from third place to second in Hartlepool cutting the majority of 17,000 to 2,000 with a swing of 19%. The Tories were pushed from second into fourth place by the Lib Dems and the UK Independence Party.
The result for the Conservatives was worse even than the third places they achieved in the previous three parliamentary by-elections in Brent East, Leicester South and Birmingham Hodge Hill. Lib Dem party president Simon Hughes said:
“The Tories have not just been overtaken, they have been left in the lay-by and overtaken by UKIP.
“It is the only time the Tories have gone from second to fourth since the Tory Party was formed.”
Lord Rennard, the Liberal Democrat campaign chief said:
“This has been a solid Labour town for 40 years. We are now seeing a pattern in which the Tories start in second place and end up third, and now fourth”.
