"Pull yourself together, there's nothing wrong with you!"

...a phrase I fear that those visiting their doctor will be hearing before too long.

In their latest attempt to hurl Britain's working conditions back into the 19th century, the Tories (and their faithful Lib Dem lapdogs) are proposing to stop GPs from signing their patients off on the sick. Instead, they would face an 'independent assessment panel', which would be independent only insofar as to have no interest in the actual well-being of the patient. Despite dressing up this monstrous act as an attempt to help people back to work, the real truth of the matter lies in this sentence:

The report authors estimate the changes could save taxpayers at least £350m each year.

Or in other words:

If a few people get sent back to work they're not suitable for/unable to carry out and their lives are shortened in some way because of it, who cares? There's plenty more where they came from, and '£15bn in lost economic output' is a far more important consideration than the lives of a few people who wouldn't have voted Tory anyway.

All this is merely the latest indictment of the moral bankrupcy and general dearth of ideas that plagues the Conservative party. It simply underlines the sad truth that in 30 years they've progressed no further than the "Fuck You, I'm Alright" politics of Cameron's idol, the evil despot Margaret Thatcher. How very, very depressing.