Transcripts For BBCNEWS BBC 20240703 : vimarsana.com

BBCNEWS BBC July 3, 2024

Lets go back to that defection from the Conservative Party to the labour party by a conservative mp. Dr dan poulter, who works part time in the nhs, has been welcomed by his new leader, sir keir starmer, who said the former minister would help his party get the Health Service back on its feet. Well, mr poulter has been speaking about why hes done this on the Laura Kuennsberg programme. Lets listen to the interview. Well, id been thinking about it for a little while and it was alongside my work as an mp. I work still work as an nhs doctor and have done. The Health Service that i saw under huge strain is very different to the Health Service of maybe a decade ago, and the struggles and the challenges that patients have been experiencing in accessing timely good care were something that really resonated with me and stayed with me, and ifound it increasingly difficult to look my nhs colleagues in the eye, my patients in the eye, and my constituents in the eye with good conscience. And i feel that the nhs deserves better than it has at the moment in terms of how its run and governed. But you pin that on, then, the governments handling of the Health Service. Because of course the nhs has had lots of problems for a long time, its run by managers in all sorts of places, but you pin that on the conservatives� handling of it. I think it comes from that. I think it comes from values, as well. Very clearly, its been the case in the last. Eight, ten years or so, the nhs is not a priority to the Conservative Party and to the government, and if we want to do better for patients, we want to restore that service to where it was before, then i believe that we need to look to a party that has a track record when it was in government before under tony blair and gordon brown, that has a track record of delivering for patients, transforming services, getting on top of waiting lists, investing in Community Health care. And thats what keir starmer and the labour party i know will do, and they will be trusted, im sure, to do it by nhs staff, as well. But when you have as a conservative, youve previously said that labour had been profligate and inefficient at how it ran the nhs. Youve attacked labours record of running the nhs in wales. I mean, i think. Certainly the nhs in all parts of the country be it in scotland or wales or england is under. Is under pressure. But the service that i saw during those night shifts was unrecognisable from the service that i worked in routinely before i became an mp. Frankly, patients deserve better. It shouldnt be the case that people a third of patients are waiting more than 60 days for urgent cancer care. That shouldnt be the case in a civilised health system. How would you describe the broader change in the Conservative Party . We now have a tory party that resembles sometimes a little bit more a nationalist, National Party rather than a party of the centre right. And i feel that, actually, the changes that the labour party has made since 2019 under Keir Starmer Notjust on the Health Service but particularly on that offer on health, about tackling the determinants of poor health and housing, poverty and all those issues are the sort of things that are really going to make a big difference. And i think thats why i believe that. Why ive made the change i have and why i believe it will make a difference to the patients i look after. Since 2010, though, constituents in your suffolk home have chosen you, sent you to westminster as a conservative. Some of them might be angry that you have left the party that they chose. What do you say to them . Well, i had two things i could have done. I could have carried on to the election and then stood down. Or i could. I could have decided to potentially have there could be a by election and call a by election. But were at the point where there might be a general election called at any moment. And i think rishi sunak should call a general election tomorrow, or as soon as possible and let the public choose, you know, and make a choice about who should be in government. And i thought about it and i thought, well, whats the best thing or the right thing to do . On balance, i thought because there will be an election very, very soon it didnt make sense to have a by election. I thought, on balance, it was better to continue to work diligently for my constituents through until the end of this parliament be that in a few weeks or potentially a few months. 0k. Dan, thank you so much indeed for speaking to us today. Thank you. Staying with politics. Scotlands first minister, humza yousaf, is facing a No Confidence vote this week after ending a Power Sharing Deal with the scottish greens. Mr yousaf has reached out to Opposition Leaders to find common ground. But a source close to him says the first minister would not agree to an electoral pact with the Scottish Nationalist and Pro Independence alba party. 0ur Scotland Editor james cook reports. Wow, what a view these are difficult days for humza yousaf, facing an uncertain outlook as he tries to shore up support for his minority government. Thats because he decided to end a Power Sharing Deal with the scottish greens. It is in the best interest of the people of scotland to pursue a different arrangement. Therefore, the scottish greens msps have decided that we will support a vote of No Confidence in the first ministen the greens are still furious and insist they will not back mr yousaf in a Confidence Vote in the coming days. Nonetheless, the snp leader has written to all the Opposition Leaders at holyrood, arguing people want to see Political Parties Work Together and inviting them to discuss their concerns and priorities. Ash regan of the alba party could be the kingmaker, her support alone might be enough for mr yousaf to survive. Alba partys leader, alex salmond, told the sunday times mr yousaf might win her over by striking an electoral pact in which snp candidates stood aside in favour of alba in some seats in future elections. But a source close to mr yousaf called the idea a fantasy and ridiculous. The main opposition say the first minister has run out of road. I think its an act of desperation on the part of the current first minister. Weve had plenty of opportunities to co operate over the years, but to be frank with you, what im looking at is a very chaotic government thats frankly incompetent and embarrassing to the people of scotland. Well, humza yousaf is one of the most divisive and incompetent first ministers scotland has ever seen, and it shows how desperate he is that he is humiliatingly having to write to his political opponents in order to save his political skin. Its quite clear that both scottish conservatives and the scottish people do need a letter from humza yousaf and that is his letter of resignation. Even so, the snp leader still hopes to hold talks with his opponents as he struggles to secure enough support to keep hisjob. James cook, bbc news. There have been suggestions that hamza yousaf could keep his government together by striking a deal with Ash Regan Who defected from the snp to the alba party. Heres what alex salmond,the leader of the alba party had to say about that. Ash regan, who leads alber in the Scottish Alba in the scottish parliament, is in a highly influential position given the political arithmetic. She will be meeting with humza yousaf at his invitation, she will take with her some very reasonable positive proposals in which hopefully if the first minister accepts that will help him to get out of a very tight political corner. Ian blackford, the former snp leader this morning, has told us pretty clearly its not going to happen, there cant be a deal with your party. No, i think what the rejection was was something about an electoral pact but given i never made the proposal in the first place, that was an overwrite on a sunday newspaper. We are not particularly bothered about that. What ash regan will be taking is measures how we can reemphasise independence as the priority of the Scottish Government. Thats what both alba and the snp should be interested in. How we can move away from the Identity Agenda thats taken up so much bandwidth of the Scottish Government and also how you can return to what we call the peoples agenda of education, health, housing and jobs and industry and ash regan has some proposals on how to do that, so these are very reasonable proposals and lets hope that humza yousaf gives it a receptive hearing. There are calls for more drug and alcohol support to be offered to people from black, asian and minority ethnic communities following concerns from charities that these groups are often underrepresented in treatment. Anna crossley has been speaking to kim, a south asian woman who was addicted to heroin for 16 years and is now in recovery. Im quite nervous. My stomach is churning. I feel quite sick, really, because this is where my addiction started. I had come away from a really unhappy, horrible marriage, and i thought i was going to start a new life here, but ended up spiralling into addiction. I didnt know. I didnt know that i was addicted to drugs. This is the first time youve been back here . It is, yeah. I think it was about time somebody spoke out. I dont know if im going to be appreciated for it or if it is going to go down well, but i felt after all these years it needed to be out in the open that theres addictions that go on in south asian communities. I was told how to walk, told how to smile, told how to do everything. So i didnt have my own kind of thoughts. It was very much controlled by other people. And then when, you know, when somebody is rolling up a joint, a joint of whatever it was, and said, here, have this, it will make you feel better, i took it. And that was my first pull of a joint of heroin. I didnt know i was in addiction until i was probably about a year or two in because the heroine was provided for me every day, or two in because the heroin was provided for me every day, so i didnt have withdrawals. It was embarrassing. Who could i tell . Who could i go to . Who would understand . For me, it was more im notjust a drug user, im an asian girl, on drugs. Im an indian girl, on drugs. Who do i turn to . Who will understand . It is more risky or dangerous not to say anything than to educate our own people and be honest about what happens and what addiction does to people. God, this is awful, this, now, thinking about it, My Little Girl came home with a Sponsorship Form for school and i made loads of photocopies of it. And i walked around the whole of bradford, i think, with the Sponsorship Form, and cheated money out of people. Absolutely shocking. When i lived in a housejust here, where the blue door is. This one here . Yes. What was your lowest point . I took an overdose of tablets because i could just. I would just. I didnt want to live any more. I didnt want to be here. Ididnt. I couldnt look after my kids. I ended up back in that horrible spiral again. You know, ifailed my parents, ifailed my kids, ifailed me. You did turn it around, though. Idid. I have. It took a long time. I was ready for change, and just in my head i knew that i didnt want this life and i was damaged. I was seriously damaged. Id lost my children. And i was going to either die or i was, you know, i needed to change my focus was going. Where are we now . Settled. We are in a happy relationship. Andy is brilliant. Weve been together for eight years. Im happy to be here. And i have earned ive earned my place here. Ive earned my place on earth, i think. The word will get out that you can support other women and men that are in the same, similar situations the more i do this. There are growing calls for the introduction of Graduated Driving Licences for young people, restricting their use of cars after passing their tests. Its something families whove lost loved ones to crashes involving Young Drivers have campaigned for, and has the backing of the aa and some Driving Instructors. 0ur reporter Phillip Norton has the story. Your first wheels can be fun, but for Young Drivers, it can often end in serious injury or death, if not for them, for passengers or others on the road. Kevin dyas is a Driving Instructor and also the chair of grimsby instructors association. He wants to see tougher restrictions on new drivers to lower casualty numbers. I think we need to relook at what we do for younger drivers because they are younger. The bit of the brain that deals with risk is towards the front, our brains develop from the back. So it is the last part of the brain that actually begins orfinishes developing. Government figures show a fifth of all fatal or serious injury crashes involved a young driver, with those aged between 17 to 2a four times as likely to be killed or seriously injured as those over 25. Kevins had a personal experience with one of his students. There was a lad that i took for about five or six lessons. Even at that time, could i recognise an underestimating of risk. He did go on to have a crash. He survived it, he was left seriously injured for quite some time, but it killed his female passenger. One idea he embraces is a graduated Driving Licence for Young Drivers, which could see restrictions on things like Passenger Numbers and driving at night. For the night is a different beast. I think its a good idea because they take their lessons, they pass their test, and theyre driving nicely. And when they pass their test, well, theyre young. Youve got your test next week. How would you feel if you couldnt take passengers straight after it . For me personally, it wouldnt bother me that much. Im commuting to and from work and maybe going to my mates� here and there. So it wouldnt really bother me that much, but it differs from person to person. The government needs to take a hand on on this to take a hand on on this and think we need to do Something Different here. We need to look at these graduated licenses. They work in lots of other countries. Lets find a one find one that works for us and go forward with it and lead something here. The government currently says it has no plans to introduce a graduated license, but says its researching support for Young Drivers. Boys, chill out back there. And targeting them in road safety campaigns. Phillip norton, bbc news. A gold pocket watch worn by the wealthiest passenger on the titanic, has sold for almost £1 million at auction. 0nce fees are added, its the highest price ever paid at auction for a single item recovered from the scene of the 1912 disaster. A leather violin bag owned by the leader of the orchestra, which famously played on as the ship sank, fetched £290,000. Duncan kennedy reports. 105,000. Theres nothing like the titanic to evoke memories, passion and buyers. This auction included one of the items that titanic collectors desire most of all its the gold pocket watch belonging to a passenger believed to be one of the richest people in the world, jothacob astor. He and 1,500 others died when the ship sank in april 1912 in the north atlantic. What jj astors watch represents is something touchable from history, which is why people are still willing to pay so much money for it. The bidding for the watch started way beyond the estimate of £150,000 and kept climbing. At £900,000. Applause. Add on all the fees and the anonymous buyer will pay £1. 17 million, a world record for an item from the titanic. At the end of the day, this price reflects not only the importance of the astor watch but also the enduring appeal of the Titanic Story. Books, films and documentaries have kept the Titanic Story alive, but it is artefacts like these that make it tangible and desirable. Duncan kennedy, bbc news in wiltshire. An appeal has been launched by the National Memorial arboretum in staffordshire to raise funds to restore one of its most striking installations. Shot at dawn pays tribute to the 309 british and commonwealth soldiers who were executed during World War One for desertion and cowardice, but its been severely damaged by flood water. 0ur Reporter Liz Copper has the story. 0n The Eastern Edge of the arboretum at alrewas, this is the first memorial to be touched by the suns rays at dawn. It has also been touched by the ravages of the elements when the nearby river tame overtops its banks. Because this is built on a floodplain, we expect the water level to come up. But as of recent years, it has come up high and remained there. So though the posts look like theyre in pretty good condition, but you will notice at the bottom they are rotting through and they dont last that many years before they need replacing. There are 309 stakes, each dedicated to a soldier shot at dawn during the first world war. They faced a firing squad for desertion, cowardice, Orsimply Falling Asleep at the post. The stakes are arranged in the form of a Greek Theatre to symbolise the tragedy of those events. They will all now be repla

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