Letter to the Northern Echo - October 2007

SIR - We've become used to seeing Labour politicians back down in the past couple of weeks. So I wasn't surprised to see Hilary Armstrong now leading the campaign to stop the closure of Shotley Bridge hospital. For many years she was the government's chief whip, responsible for bringing into line Labour MPs who dared criticise Labour's NHS management. Now that Tony Blair is history she's suddenly seen the light.

What did surprise me, however, was that no mention was made of why this hospital, and others like it in our region, are threatened with closure. The reason, as we all know, is Labour's inept management of our NHS, which has led to junior doctors on the dole, scores of deaths from superbugs and a scarcity of GPs at weekends. I'll gladly sign Hilary Armstrong's petition.
 
Yours sincerely,
Martin Callanan MEP
Conservative