Neil Edwards

@aliciakearns If a hospital appt is cancelled & rearranged- what impact is there on govt stats? This has happened on numerous times with family members in last 2 yrs

NEWS: Labour to ration NHS referrals Labour’s plans to ration NHS referrals are deeply concerning and will affect us all. Instead of being referred directly to a specialist when your GP thinks it’s needed, now your doctor will have to email a specialist and you have to wait for them to email back their view. Once your GP gets the email back, they either need to call you in for another appointment, or provide that specialist's assessment to you by letter. Then you will need to wait and see whether that advice (given without seeing you in person) works for a period of time, before then going back to your GP again, and asking again to be referred to a specialist if you are still suffering with the health issue. The result? Longer waiting times for specialist care, while specialists spend more time writing emails than actually seeing patients and using their expertise. On paper, waiting lists will therefore look significantly shorter, but only because fewer people ever make it onto them. You are not on a waiting list while the GP is waiting for the specialist to send their advice (without seeing you). You are only on a waiting list when, and if, you then request later to be seen by the Specialist, once you've gone through all of the process above. ⁠So all of this means the Government can announce they've cut waiting lists massively, but what is actually means is longer waiting times for specialist care for all of us as patients, and specialists spend their time writing emails not seeing patients.

@jcorrigangolf Agree entirely- probably needs a forward in his own team whacking him in training a couple of times

@SamCoatesSky @LucyJMcDaid I think this is of such importance to every citizen, that it demands a national referendum with say at least a 10% margin (55/45) to enact - having seen the impact on close family, I want a choice.

🔥Quite the reaction to our Esther Rantzen interview Lord Mark Harper - former Tory chief whip - told my colleague @LucyJMcDaid : “Esther Rantzen is a wealthy, articulate, powerful person who is never going to be a victim. If we get this bill wrong, we've got to pass a piece of legislation that properly protects vulnerable people, people who don't have a lot of money or resources or anybody to speak for them. And we've got to make sure the bill is fit for them, as well as people like Esther Rantzen. And that's the job that we're doing, and that's what we're expected to do. And I think we're acquitting that responsibility in the appropriate way.” Baroness Tanni Grey-Thompson, on accusations that peers are ignoring will of the Commons, told @LucyJMcDaid “So, this gets really interesting when when MPs talk about, you know, the will of the elected house... in this case, as a private member's bill, the Salisbury Convention doesn't apply, you know, so we we don't have to, pass a private member's bill... So it's interesting, the people who are frustrated, it does feel slightly unfair, that they're just not maybe getting their own way.”

@MartinSLewis If it’s a breach of contract, can a city law firm organise a class action on behalf of those affected on a pro bono basis to halt then change the policy?

The govt's Student Loan Plan 2 repayment freeze in April 2027 must be reversed. It isn't moral. I'm concerned that my debate with Kemi Badenoch this morning distracts from the most immediate problem. In April 2027 Rachel Reeves will freeze the Plan 2 student loan threshold until 2030 which by then will increase graduate repayments by £300/yr more. This is effectively a unilateral negative breach of the student loan contract. Students were told the threshold would rise with average earnings. No commercial lender would be allowed to do this. The govt shouldn't do it either. Changing the terms of future students loans is a political decision - people may not like it but it is transparent. Negatively changing the terms of contracts already signed, and long in place, is a breach of natural justice.

@Anna_Soubry Sadly it feels now like the norm for governments of all colours and I expect purple or green ones in the future would be no different

Hands up. This Tweet is not ageing well.

@ReformHubUK Um, Arsenal are top of the league?

The Premiership according to Sky News Aston Villa 46pts Man Utd 41pts Man City 47pts Arsenal 53pts

@TiceRichard @SamCoatesSky Read Sam’s later post

Sky fiddling with convention to hide how well Reform doing

@SamCoatesSky @ZiaYusufUK Keep going in hard Sam - keep asking the tough questions

@ZiaYusufUK Oh for goodness sake. I was typing it one handed while running out the door, cutting and pasting it from the pollster email, to get it out quickly after one of your own team complained it wasn't on the podcast because it was all Mandelson and Epstein. Honestly.

Lots of people on here asking why you chose to rank them like this @SamCoatesSky?

@KeirGale @MonkEmma Just checking do you live in Oxford?

This thread makes the points I've been struggling to articulate. Long but worth a read if you're trying to get your head around the "threat to freedom" in Oxford.

@jaynordlinger Sadly hitting US businesses hard might make them and their customers question the range of issues impacted by the current administration policies

An English correspondent of mine writes, "What Trump said about NATO soldiers has whipped up people into a rage here in Britain. The usual Trump act is one thing; it's quite another to insult the families of the dead and mutilated. This has now got to the stage where I have started to see Facebook posts urging people to boycott U.S. products and use their equivalents from other places. I think this is both short-sighted and morally questionable -- Trump and his minions are not the whole of the USA -- but I worry that this will become a trend."

@BBCSteveR It’s all the rage in Russia apparently!!

I didn't know I had a body double...Russian TV clearly thinks I do. At Vladimir Putin's press conference a reporter did a live interview with 'Steve Rosenberg' (but it wasn't me).

@bbcnickrobinson Trouble is when you start to mislead the public it starts to unravel as time goes on

This 👇

@williamnhutton Totally agree - with that stonking majority it should be a JFDI mentality- however does any one in government or Civil Service have any real business knowledge or experience?

The policies to deliver higher growth stare us in the face. Best of all they are eminently feasible. Labour should simply do them, and at scale with conviction. The budget missed the opportunity. observer.co.uk/news/columnist…

@Nus_Ghani @KhadijaKhan__ Loved the tie, did it reflect any particular organisation or institution?

Thank you @KhadijaKhan__ Was the 👔 tie (red, white & blue) that set vibe.

@Kevin_Maguire Selective use of the data with high numbers of emigrants

And most Britons wrongly believe it's going up. We live in an age of ignorant rage. bbc.com/news/live/cn0g…

@DanNeidle Think you are far too technical and logical - what about hoping something will turn up to improve the situation?

Weird that the Budget is so "back-loaded", with very few tax rises next year, and then massive effects from the threshold freeze in 2030 Why?

@Top100Rick Really - as a 64 year old its my trusty 3 wood with a little bit off

205 yards. Uphill. You hitting a 7 or 8 iron?

@brianmoore666 Blimey, bet you got a flea in the ear!

Sorry, Company Sergeant Major Moore.

@paullewismoney The compression of take home pay kills aspiration for all those on PAYE. we might get many wanting to work 3-4 days a week impacting productivity

No one knows what the Budget will bring but if - IF - the two up two down tax and NI change happens this is what it would cost individuals who paid more though most would not bit.ly/4oFwa2X

@MrNickKnowles Would love to see him doing something with young adults on coping with mental health issues - he’s struggled and is managing his condition but could be an excellent role model. He could also do other fun stuff too.

Couldn’t agree more - absolutely top bloke and I hope they are throwing programme ideas at him already for his own shows