September 28: Corbyn and the duty of Labour

The consequence is that this year’s Labour conference is a throwback to the combustible gatherings of the past when union delegates, and party activists, held sway; there will be none of the choreography that characterised the Tony Blair years and Mr Corbyn appears relaxed to the prospect of his party’s stance on the renewal of the Trident nuclear deterrent differing from his own convictions as a pacifist.

Yet, while many mock Mr Corbyn over his appearance or past actions like his appeasement of Sinn Fein at the height of the Troubles in Northern Ireland, this overlooks the fact that he was elected by an overwhelming majority – not even Mr Blair enjoyed such a resounding mandate after John Smith’s death – and his critics within the Parliamentary Labour Party need to be mindful of this.

To many, it will be refreshing that there is a leader on the side of humanity who wishes to involve the mass membership on decision-making – one reason that there is so much apathy in politics per se is because of a perceived disconnect between the main players and the public. Equally, Mr Corbyn’s cohorts need to respect those who hold contrary viewpoints.

That said, the emotionally-charged words of Lord Kinnock are as relevant today as they were in 1985. The duty of Her Majesty’s Opposition is not to advocate “impossible promises”; it is to scrutinise Ministers, to devise a coherent economic plan and show that is capable of forming a credible government. Despite Mr Corbyn’s desire to broaden the debate, there is little evidence to suggest that his new-style of politics will lead to his party becoming more electable – or able to perform the basic functions of a reputable Opposition.

Ambulance angst: 999 services are not charity cases

EVEN THOUGH relations between Yorkshire Ambulance Service and the unions have been strained for many years, managers are right to acknowledge concerns about staff

levels rather than denying that a crisis exists. Not only are St John Ambulance being used to respond to some emergencies, but there are now occasions when paramedics are not sent to ‘life and death’ incidents.

This cannot be right. For, while it is important that ambulances work with charities, particularly over the provision of medical cover at spectator events, there is a world of difference between basic first aid and those incidents which are so serious that the patients concerned require lifesaving treatment.

Like those hospitals which are increasingly dependent upon agency workers because they do not have sufficient qualified staff to meet current workloads, the onus is on ambulance chiefs to make sure they have sufficient staff on duty with the requisite qualifications – the emergency services should not be charity cases. Equally response times and so on will not improve unless the unions work constructively with Yorkshire Ambulance Service to reconcile their differences. If this does not happen, the people who will suffer most of all are the patients – the very people to whom this much-troubled organisation should be assisting.

Over the rainbow: Lizzie honours Beryl Burton legacy

FIVE decades after the pioneering Beryl Burton, one of the all-time greats of Leeds sport, became the first British woman to become the world cycling champion, how apt that another indefatigable Yorkshirewoman – Lizzie Armitstead – has the honour of wearing the cherished rainbow jersey after the Otley-born rider held her nerve to win the UCI World Road Championships in America.

Though cycling is now very different to the 1960s – it is now a mass participation sport thanks to the unprecedented success of UK riders in recent years – Armitstead’s stirring success is all the more remarkable because she had not ridden a bicycle on a regular basis before her potential was spotted by British Cycling’s Olympic Talent Team during a visit to Prince Henry Grammar School in 2004. Having honoured Burton’s legacy, Armistead can eclipse her Yorkshire heroine by winning gold at next year’s Olympics. We wish her well on the road to Rio – she is the rider that the rest of the world now have to beat.