Hannan in fresh assault on the NHS: “Heeere’s Danny!”

Heeere's Danny! Loose cannon Daniel Hannan should give Tory spinners sleepless nights

Remember Conservative MEP Daniel Hannan’s attacks on the NHS? Where he said that British doctors “make people iller”? Here’s a reminder :

Well it turns out the Tories’ loose-cannon-at-large has been at it again! In remarks made in a speech at the Army and Navy Club in Washington DC Hannan has said: “It is exactly a Marxist system. You are treated as a supplicant and expected to be grateful for what you get [...] It is not uncommon to wait six, 10, even 12 months for a knee operation”.

Hang on a minute.  Year long waiting lists?  That is, like, so nineties!  Thankfully Grace Fletcher-Hackwood* pulls this to bits so Scrapbook doesn’t have to:

He’s also, of course, lying [...] let’s have a look at the figures, shall we: ‘The number of patients, for whom English commissioners are responsible, waiting over the 26 weeks standard at the end of June 2009 was 23′ - NHS inpatient and outpatient waiting times figures, 30 June 2009. That’s twenty-three people in England waiting more than six months for treatment. Twenty-three. In the whole of England.

But he isn’t done with his media rounds yet. In an interview with Andrew Napolitano (whose reference to “Chancellor Gordon Brown” betrays his level of interest in affairs outside the 50 states) Hannan insults NHS staff yet again by describing them as a voting “bloc” whose behaviour means “it’s almost impossible to get rid of the [NHS]“:

Fox News nutcase Sean Hannity concludes the first video clip above by saying “Daniel, I hope one day I will get to introduce you as Mister Prime Minister”. In the words of the Honourable Member for Glasgow South:

He’s being talked of as a future candidate of his party. I can think of nothing more likely to turn moderate voters off than his strident, smug, arrogant neo-Thatcherism. So best of luck to him. – Tom Harris

Hannan seems to think no one will notice his attacks on British public services if they’re done stateside.

Perhaps someone should tell him we can get Fox News in the UK?

* Welcome to the blogroll, Gracie.