The British Medical Association Pressure Group

The British Medical Association (BMA) is a trade union representing doctors in the UK and was founded in 1832 by Sir Charles Hastings. It has been recognised by NHS employers as sole contract negotiators for doctors, and currently have a membership of 156,000 doctors, along with 19,000 medical students, who have access to expert employment advice. 

The BMA is a sectional pressure group as it represents the common interests of a particular section of society: doctors and medical students who are directly and personally concerned with the outcomes of their campaigns. It is also an insider group because the BMA has had political legitimacy with the government, and have had policy credibility. 

The BMA has played a key role in the drafting and passing of the Medical Act 1858, which established the General Medical Council, and set out a standard for qualified and unqualified doctors and a system of professional regulation. 

It also played a major role in future medical politics, campaigning on issues, such as Poor Law Medicine, quackery, public health, alternative and military medicine, and contract practice. 

The BMA's 'Policy in Relation to Smoking' was published 1971, and recently they called for a ban on smoking in private vehicles to protect passengers, especially children. This was successful because in October 2015, the ban of smoking in cars with child passengers, was enforced. Despite this, the BMA have not stopped here as they want to extend this to banning smoking in cars completely. 

In February 2014, the European Parliament approved the Tobacco Products Directive, aiming to make smoking less appealing to young people by putting health warnings on 2/3 on the cigarette pack, and banning small packs and flavoured cigarettes. 

In the past two years, the BMA have had an input in the new contracts for junior doctors and are continuing to debate on this issue. They have also campaigned for the government to put a 20% tax on sugary drinks to combat obesity, and have recently put out a plea to stop helium being used to fill party balloons because they fear there will be soon none left for medical use (used for MRA scanning machines). 

What are the major similarities and differences within the Labour and Conservative Party?

The Conservative Party and Labour Party are very different, especially through their beliefs and ideologies. However, these two Parties are similar through their key pledges of the 2015 General Election.

The Conservative Party is different to the Labour Party because their ideologies are concerned with Thatcherism, and David Cameron, along with Osborne, believe in leading modernisers, and that a smaller state is ideologically desirable. Spending cuts rather than tax rises (Tori pledge) reflected this idea of a decreasing state, and the welfare cuts showed Thatcherism, as welfare creates a 'culture of dependency' which hampers the economy. Also, privatisation is opposite Labour's policies because Labour are more left wing, believing in the state helping the public, by owning its public services, whereas the Conservatives are more right wing. The 'big society philosophy' is Cameron's ideological flagship in 2010, which was the idea of the 'big society' seen as a way of resurrecting the core Thatcherite goal, of 'rolling back the state'. In comparison, when Ed Miliband became leader of the Labour Party, he was more Brownite wing, than Blairite wing, saying that 'New Labour is dead.' This is different to the Conservatives because their policies on welfare reform, is more Blairite wing, but Ed Miliband is the opposite. Also, the 'One Nation Labour' suggests that Labour, rather than the Conservatives, was the true heir of the One Nation tradition. 

However, the Conservatives and the Labour Party have some similarities, through their key pledges. Both parties want to cut the deficit and provide extra funding for the NHS, despite the different amounts pledges by the two parties. Also Labour and Conservatives want to prevent EU migrants from claiming benefits for a certain amount of time. In the key pledges of 2015, of the two parties, the 'in/out' referendum on the EU, has been mentioned, to reduce the transferring powers from the UK to the EU.

To what extent are the current Conservative and Labour party similar and different?

In many ways, the Conservative party and Labour party are very different. The Conservative MPs continue to hold right wing or Thatcherite views, where they believe in free market and self interest, where people earn for themselves. Whereas the Labour party are more left wing, with Old Labour ideas returning, where people look out for one another. 

The Conservative party introduced further modernization, for example, Cameron and Osborne believe that a smaller state is ideologically desirable. The key pledges the Conservatives introduced in 2015 include:

• To eliminate the deficit and achieve a budget surplus by 2018-19. 
• Cut welfare spending by £12 billion.
• Cut the household benefit cap from £26,000 to £23,000 year.
• Increase NHS spending in England, by at least £8 billion. 
• Raise the income tax personal allowance to £12,500.
• Extend the 'right to buy' scheme.
• Scrap the Human Rights Act, replacing it with a 'British bill of rights.' 
• Prevent EU migrants from claiming certain benefits and social housing for 4 years. 
• Hold an 'in/out' referendum on the UK's EU membership by the end of 2017. 

The Labour party, under Ed Miliband's leadership, their key pledges for  the May 2015 general election are:

• Cut the deficit every year in order to balance the books. 
• No additional borrowing for new spending. 
• Provide an extra £2.5 billion for the NHS, paid by a 'mansion tax.'
• Reintroduce the 50% top rate of income tax for those earning over £150,000.
• Raise the minimum wage to at least £8 an hour by 2019.
• Abolish the 'bedroom tax.'
• Introduce a 2 year wait before EU migrants can claim out of work benefits. 
• No transfer of powers from the UK, to the EU without an 'in/out' referendum. 
• Freeze energy bills until 2017. 

Despite their differences, the Conservative and Labour party are similar, especially through their key pledges of the 2015 general election as although they aren't completely the same, both parties pledged to increase the NHS spending by £8 billion (Tories) or £2.5 billion (Labour). The two parties have also pledged, in their different ways, to prevent EU migrants from claiming benefits, and the 'in/out' referendum on the UK's EU membership has been mentioned by the Conservatives and Labour. 

However, despite these similarities, the Conservatives and Labour remain on opposite ends of the political spectrum, meaning their ideologies clash with one another, and the two parties will always have to compete for the public's vote. 

Does Jeremy Corbyn align himself more with traditional socialism or is he a social democrat?

Jeremy Corbyn recently won the Labour leadership contest by a landslide of almost 60% of the votes. He is involved in the socialist campaign group, but is he a traditional socialist or a social democrat?

Socialism is an ideology that ranges from the revolutionary communism to reformist social democracy and believes that people are bound together by common humanity. Traditional socialists usually believe that capitalism should be abolished and to have equality for all. Whereas social democracy is an ideology that supports a broad balance between capitalism and state intervention.

Jeremy Corbyn has claimed that he prioritizes the needs of the people and protecting human rights. He is very left wing and believes that there is an alternative to the neo-liberal Thatcherite consensus, whilst having an anti-austerity message.

I believe Corbyn is aligned more with traditional socialism because he wants to re-nationalise Britain's railway services and energy companies. He is also a strong republican which means that he does not like the Monarchy, as he won't sing the National Anthem; he won't fight to get rid of the Royal Family because he knows he would lose. Corbyn also wants to introduce a National Education Service, modeled on the NHS, and to abolish Private Finance Initiative deals with the NHS, by using government funds to buy them out. This all shows a traditional socialist's values, as they believe that the state should own and run the economy and its services to help those most in need, such as the working class.

This portrays Jeremy Corbyn as a traditional socialism as he is more for protectionism and state intervention to get more money for the government, to fund more public services. He also wants to reduce the welfare benefits, to encourage more people to work instead of claiming benefits, by introducing a National Maximum living wage. Traditional socialists believes in equality for all, and Corbyn represents this as he has expressed that he wants equality for women, to make 50% of his cabinet female. Social democrats prefer a mixed economy, but Jeremy Corbyn prefers the state to own public services. He also has an austere, almost ascetic approach to life which means that he possesses self discipline and has a plain lifestyle.