Richard Spring MP
Member of Parliament for West Suffolk

A month ago, after defeat by South Africa, the England rugby team’s chances of success in the rugby World Cup were dismissed out of hand. For many, the 36-0 drubbing marked the depths of despair from which there would be no possible way back. It is astonishing to now think that the same team has transformed itself into a side that on Saturday could be just 80 minutes away from writing themselves into the history books.

As a nation, we are supposedly at our best when our backs are against the wall facing overwhelming odds. What we all witnessed in Paris on Saturday night was, once again, the English spirit coming through to defy all logic. The rugby played by the England team was not always beautiful to watch but what they did possess was sheer determination and a strong sense of collective will. 
 
This was all played with the highest level of sportsmanship. Star performer Jonny Wilkinson and the team behaved impeccably while the 40,000 fans who headed to Paris for the game were a credit to us all.

No matter what the result is on Saturday, we should be very proud of the manner in which our sporting heroes have conducted themselves over the past few weeks. Like so many others, I shall be glued to the television set on Saturday evening!

Ming Campbell addressed a Liberal Democrat conference in my constituency on Saturday, not that you would have noticed. Suffolk is not exactly heaving with Liberal Democrats, and certainly not in Mildenhall. 

A relation of mine once stood as a Liberal Democrat parliamentary candidate, and was perfectly honest in admitting that she made up a lot of her policies. Just as well. 

They have prospered because people who have been disillusioned with confrontational party politics could make their protest. Now they cannot agree about anything, whether on tax or Europe. Many decent Liberal Democrats will be revolted if they commit patricide and be put off voting for them, as they will look collectively, rather nasty and ungrateful. 

There is no guarantee that a new leader will do better. It is them, not their leader that is the problem. None of the contenders have the passion and leadership of Paddy Ashdown, or sheer likeability of Charles Kennedy. So they should be very cautious indeed before they stick the yellow knife in. 

The top-down, centralised, target-driven culture has driven front-line clinicians in our NHS to despair. Labour’s interference and obsessive centralisation has now led to the tenth reorganisation of the NHS since it came to power nine years ago. Yet speaking on Radio 4 yesterday, Health Secretary Alan Johnson defended these Government targets. I for one know someone who would completely disagree; my constituent, Mrs Townsend who suffers from a chronic pain problem – osteoporosis. 

Despite millions of pounds being poured into our hospitals, it is staggering that there are no resources available to Mrs Townsend for subsequent pain relief. This was confirmed to me by the Chief Executive of West Suffolk Hospital who explained that the hospital is unable to move her up the waiting list. This was all brought to my attention by Mrs Townsend’s consultant, Dr Rajesh Munglani (and confirmed by her GP) who explained that “unfortunately due to the intense pressures on the service caused by Government obsession with targets focusing on new patients and initial treatments, it means that the times for follow up appointments and second and subsequent treatments are extremely prolonged.” 

Pain clinics are being cut back or closed down, he told me, because the 18 week first appointment target has become so important that clinical judgment has been suspended. It is sheer madness and consultants up and down the country are furious. 

NHS money needs to start going straight to the doctors and clinicians at the frontline, without distorting interference along the way. And it should go where it is needed. These decisions have a real life impact on many people across the country, and no bland assurances by Government ministers can alter that fact.    

There can be no denying that Gordon Brown suffered an incredible mauling after a hellish half hour at Prime Minister’s Question time yesterday. The reaction of Labour MPs said it all as they sat there quietly and glum faced as David Cameron picked apart the furious looking PM for refusing to call a General Election and the theft of Tory tax proposals.

It may be premature to say yesterday could represent a turning point in British politics but from every angle it looked as if the foundations of the Gordon Brown big-tent Government had crumbled. After a fine display of wit and intelligence by David Cameron the momentum now lies firmly with the Conservative party.  

Tony Blair would have dealt with the situation entirely differently, and not been bruised at all in the same way. We have an expression in Suffolk: ‘The last vicar was the best vicar.’ I wonder if Labour MPs (including Quentin Davies) are just beginning to think that too.

Messrs Brown and Darling obviously thought that by taking on the policy areas highlighted by George Osborne last week, they were being really politically astute. 

Of course the magpie headlines will convince some people that this is all politicians’ gamesmanship and is in the unattractive nature of the beast. However, it really is a miscalculation. Gordon Brown until recently as Prime Minister sought to project himself as some sort of statesman like figure above the fray. The clever, clever nature of yesterday’s PBR shows him to be the evasive sort of politician, something which over time will become more apparent. I suspect that even Tony Blair, that great actor manager, would have drawn the line at the absurd attempt to outfox the Tories. 

Gordon Brown in retrospect will have been seen to have done himself no favours yesterday. The underlining economic budget reality is obvious to see. It really was cheap and pathetic stuff from a Government that has clearly run out of steam.   

The extraordinary reaction in the conference hall in Blackpool after George Osborne announced a major Inheritance tax cut begs the question as to whether we have reached some kind of tipping point. A common view has been that if politicians promise tax cuts, they are simply disbelieved, to the extent of being counter productive. However, it is just maybe that all those ever rising and multiplying taxes have really made the public fed up – especially when they see such relatively poor value in our public services. In other words, the public’s acceptance of ever higher tax bills may have reached a limit.

It is against this background that Alistair Darling presents his Pre-Budget Report and Comprehensive Spending Review today. He will be reporting slower growth, higher borrowing and spending than earlier projected. Mortgage rates have risen and the price of petrol has now reached £1 per litre. 

The charges made by Labour that tax cuts will mean diminished public services are sticking less and less, especially as the Tories have accepted Labour’s overall control total anyway. The public is beginning to realise that far from being the tight fisted figure he likes to project, Gordon Brown has been spectacularly good at spending (and wasting) our money. Poor Alistair Darling will have to deal with the consequences of this profligate legacy today 

If a week is a long time in politics, then the last few days must have seemed like a veritable ice age for Gordon Brown, especially facing the hell of today. Two weeks ago there was consternation or at least growing acceptance amongst Tory MPs that GB would call an election, and that he would win. Truly dreadful  speeches at the Labour Party conference failed to dent this sense of apprehension. Would he/ wouldn’t he, with all the possible reasons, was the focus of endless discussions amongst my fellow MPs. 

David Cameron bravely challenged the Prime Minister to call an election, despite the unpropitious outlook. When he spoke at Blackpool, it was beyond a stunning tour de force. There is simply nobody in British politics capable of a speech like that. The Prime Minister, with John Major so tellingly intervening, had done himself no favours by his dreadfully scripted visit to Iraq. Tory MPs will now have a powerful will to win, and they scent blood, and it isn’t the blood of an Englishman either. 

There were other Blackpool speeches that showed up the terrible performances at the Labour party conference. However it was George Osborne’s speech on tax which set the tone for a public re-assessment of the Conservative party and brought out the most ludicrous contradictory and unprofessional responses from Labour. 

There will be high and low moments for both parties until the next General Election – the Liberal Democrats are now embarrassingly irrelevant – but for Gordon, those glad confident mornings of late will never be quite the same again. For the second time in due course it will be an engaging and articulate Oxbridge product who will be removing his Prime Ministerial crown.