Hospital parking is a much lower priority in my opinion, to be given any consideration at all by Restore at this stage. Why was it even discussed? We are talking about the wholesale changes that need to be made to the governance of the whole country. It’s like worrying about the colour of your carpets to be installed when you haven’t even decided which house you are going to buy or build. Focus on what’s important. Decisions about hospital parking should be left to hospital administrators.
Yes, I can see that it might be important to you at this moment in your life. I live in Australia. My wife has also had heart failure and we had to navigate a hospital that didn’t have adequate parking available even though it wasn’t free. In my own case, I have also spent time in the same hospital in the last three years due to cancer. The local hospital administration recently opened a brand new multi-storey carpark capable of taking a further 1507 vehicles. It isn’t a free car parking facility, but its charges are very reasonable. My point is that we are talking about a complete change in the way the UK is governed, via a brand new party. Things like hospital parking is not a hill to die on at this point. If Restore actually gets into power in three years’ time, then it might be a subject to discuss. From what I can see, having visited the UK over the years, the last time in 2025, and having relatives in the UK, NHS funds need to be aimed at the services provided inside the hospital. That is a result of the NHS being free at the point of service. Anything free at the point of service is likely to be abused. People should not be attending Emergency for a cold or a headache. My relatives have told me that even getting an appointment with a GP is difficult in the UK. The NHS should not be expected to cater to the medical needs of millions of immigrants who haven’t lived in the UK long enough to contribute enough to the health budget. That, to me, is a much more important issue. This is a problem in the UK of people being led to believe that services can be “free”. Nothing is really free. Everything has to be paid for. The question is, who pays? And who benefits? There is no possible perfect solution in this world.
Well Kevin, as my wife is currently 6 days into what is likely to be a protracted hospital stay, hospital parking is quite an important issue in my life - and I'm not alone.
The reason why it was even discussed is that many people find it an objectionable departure from the principle of the NHS being free at the point of use.
There comes time where perfect becomes the enemy of the good.
We all know they are flawed. Arguably the problem your father had with Brexit was his intransigence: he was used by Christopher Booker to provide the heavy lifting re research. It is important work. But Booker was ‘inside’ and your dad ‘outside’.
Every political party is dominated by compromise as Thatcher knew.
The point is not to start from a point of ideological purity: but to put a point in the compass to allow you to push people in your direction .
But you only get to do that from the inside as Booker well knew. Not so much clubable but less likely than not to burn the house down: Booker didn’t do burning the house down. He worked from the inside.
Exactly. A literal left wing party has been able to vastly reduce immigration in Denmark and even achieve net-negative migration.
Presumably, if something as minor as hospital parking can cause him to turn on Restor, he'd have thought that change in Denmark was absolutely impossible. Yet, they have achieved positive changes.
How much more, then, can any right wing party in power do.
John Major ( of whom I'm not a fan) once told a youngster why he wanted to be inside the metaphorical goldfish bowl of politics - " it's because that's were all the decisions are made..... it's no good being on the outside" .. I'm pretty sure that child is a politician today.
I'm with you on this, I have been an engineer all my life and the devil really is in the detail. I'm fed up with seeing click bait headlines that really haven't been thought through
I knew this Pete. My perspective is 'sorting little issues makes a big difference to those on a tight budget'. As does Reform, Conservative, Labour, Restore will have a team in the wings helping with more detailed SWOT analysis. I hope so anyway.
I agree. His policy on the environment leads with hosepipe bans for example but the example you chose does stand up reasonable scrutiny as its been in effect for 18 years in Scotland (excepting three hospitals which has been for 6 years) and I appreciate the free parking as a patient (and yes its hard to get a space but there are alternatives to charging).
On the specifics of the hospital parking: if the NHS is free so should parking to use it be.
More generally Restore would hopefully be doing things that other parties would have no intention of doing at all rather than fiddling around the edges or switching from SAP to NAV.
Additionally the parking, like NHS treatment itself, should be "freely" available at point of use to those who have funded it, either in the past or currently. Or who genuinely can't contribute through circumstances - not those who roll up and don't, or won't contribute.
But considering that hospitals don't even check whether people are eligible for treatment, or charge those who aren't eligible, who cares about parking anyway?
Hospital parking is a much lower priority in my opinion, to be given any consideration at all by Restore at this stage. Why was it even discussed? We are talking about the wholesale changes that need to be made to the governance of the whole country. It’s like worrying about the colour of your carpets to be installed when you haven’t even decided which house you are going to buy or build. Focus on what’s important. Decisions about hospital parking should be left to hospital administrators.
Yes, I can see that it might be important to you at this moment in your life. I live in Australia. My wife has also had heart failure and we had to navigate a hospital that didn’t have adequate parking available even though it wasn’t free. In my own case, I have also spent time in the same hospital in the last three years due to cancer. The local hospital administration recently opened a brand new multi-storey carpark capable of taking a further 1507 vehicles. It isn’t a free car parking facility, but its charges are very reasonable. My point is that we are talking about a complete change in the way the UK is governed, via a brand new party. Things like hospital parking is not a hill to die on at this point. If Restore actually gets into power in three years’ time, then it might be a subject to discuss. From what I can see, having visited the UK over the years, the last time in 2025, and having relatives in the UK, NHS funds need to be aimed at the services provided inside the hospital. That is a result of the NHS being free at the point of service. Anything free at the point of service is likely to be abused. People should not be attending Emergency for a cold or a headache. My relatives have told me that even getting an appointment with a GP is difficult in the UK. The NHS should not be expected to cater to the medical needs of millions of immigrants who haven’t lived in the UK long enough to contribute enough to the health budget. That, to me, is a much more important issue. This is a problem in the UK of people being led to believe that services can be “free”. Nothing is really free. Everything has to be paid for. The question is, who pays? And who benefits? There is no possible perfect solution in this world.
Well Kevin, as my wife is currently 6 days into what is likely to be a protracted hospital stay, hospital parking is quite an important issue in my life - and I'm not alone.
The reason why it was even discussed is that many people find it an objectionable departure from the principle of the NHS being free at the point of use.
There comes time where perfect becomes the enemy of the good.
We all know they are flawed. Arguably the problem your father had with Brexit was his intransigence: he was used by Christopher Booker to provide the heavy lifting re research. It is important work. But Booker was ‘inside’ and your dad ‘outside’.
Every political party is dominated by compromise as Thatcher knew.
The point is not to start from a point of ideological purity: but to put a point in the compass to allow you to push people in your direction .
But you only get to do that from the inside as Booker well knew. Not so much clubable but less likely than not to burn the house down: Booker didn’t do burning the house down. He worked from the inside.
Exactly. A literal left wing party has been able to vastly reduce immigration in Denmark and even achieve net-negative migration.
Presumably, if something as minor as hospital parking can cause him to turn on Restor, he'd have thought that change in Denmark was absolutely impossible. Yet, they have achieved positive changes.
How much more, then, can any right wing party in power do.
John Major ( of whom I'm not a fan) once told a youngster why he wanted to be inside the metaphorical goldfish bowl of politics - " it's because that's were all the decisions are made..... it's no good being on the outside" .. I'm pretty sure that child is a politician today.
I'm with you on this, I have been an engineer all my life and the devil really is in the detail. I'm fed up with seeing click bait headlines that really haven't been thought through
Systems thinking..... who'd have 'thunk' - excellent essay.
All valid points and as well as Reform and Restore not having a long term future one must surely add in the Labour and Conservative parties?
Where is the analytical rationale in this? It's a series of bland assertions and meanderings about work history. Is it from Facebook?
Rather then arguing with you, how about listening to the criticism and consider its validity?
Pete is my current go-to for a bit of common sense in a rightosphere that's gone mad.
No of course your post wasn't about hospital parking but if you're going to use an example to illustrate your point, choose a good one.
I knew this Pete. My perspective is 'sorting little issues makes a big difference to those on a tight budget'. As does Reform, Conservative, Labour, Restore will have a team in the wings helping with more detailed SWOT analysis. I hope so anyway.
I agree. His policy on the environment leads with hosepipe bans for example but the example you chose does stand up reasonable scrutiny as its been in effect for 18 years in Scotland (excepting three hospitals which has been for 6 years) and I appreciate the free parking as a patient (and yes its hard to get a space but there are alternatives to charging).
Final point, absolutely agree.
https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-45347166
On the specifics of the hospital parking: if the NHS is free so should parking to use it be.
More generally Restore would hopefully be doing things that other parties would have no intention of doing at all rather than fiddling around the edges or switching from SAP to NAV.
“On the specifics of the hospital parking: if the NHS is free so should parking to use it be.”
The NHS is (largely) as the saying goes, “free at the point of use”. But it is paid for out of general taxation.
To be consistent, if NHS parking is also to be “free at the point of use”, we should all pay a little more tax.
Those of us who actually pay tax, that is.
Additionally the parking, like NHS treatment itself, should be "freely" available at point of use to those who have funded it, either in the past or currently. Or who genuinely can't contribute through circumstances - not those who roll up and don't, or won't contribute.
But considering that hospitals don't even check whether people are eligible for treatment, or charge those who aren't eligible, who cares about parking anyway?
No, we’ll all just go further into debt as usual.