Tories, Labour come to blows
2005-03-04 16:13
London - First there was Jennifer's Ear. Now it's Margaret Dixon's Shoulder that's become the stuff of bare-knuckle politicking between Britain's governing Labour Party and the main opposition Conservatives.
With election fever in the air, the two camps have locked horns in a rowdy blame game over the free-care-for-all National Health Service (NHS) and its reputation for long waiting lists.
The firestorm erupted this week when the Tories - ramping up for an expected May 5 general election - introduced the nation to the plight of pensioner Margaret Dixon, 69, from Penketh, Cheshire in the north of England.
She is in deep pain as she awaits a shoulder operation, yet according to the Conservatives her local NHS hospital in Warrington has put off surgery no less than seven times due to a lack of intensive-care post-op beds.
Conservative leader Michael Howard invited Dixon to a press conference in London on Thursday as living proof of Prime Minister Tony Blair's failure to improve health care since Labour swept to power in May 1997.
"The Dixons are a hard-working family that have paid their taxes, worked hard all their lives and depend on our National Health Service," Howard said.
Let down
Yet Mrs Dixon had been "let down" by a system which devotes too much money to bureaucracy and allows central government health-care targets to override local priorities, he said.
"Mr Blair suggested (in parliament on Wednesday) that theirs was an isolated case," the Tory leader said. "But last year there were 67 000 cancelled operations - 10 000 more than there were in 1999."
Back home in Cheshire, meanwhile, Dixon was left disappointed Thursday evening when Reid - wary of getting dragged into what he called a Conservative "stunt" - failed to contact her.
"I have no axe to grind whatsoever with Warrington Hospital," added Dixon, who revealed to reporters that she had, in fact, voted for Blair and Labour in the last two elections.
"I have cause to be very grateful to that hospital. I am not aware that the Tories are using me for political gain and as far as I am concerned I am not a political pawn."
In the meantime, Dixon's shoulder still hurts, her arm is still in a sling - and she has a new appointment for surgery on March 21.
- SAPA