Don't get me wrong, I think claiming the NHS has been "weaponized by the left" is idiotic, but I don't see how PC expenditures support or refute that point?
'Labour has defended the way it is campaigning on the NHS – but once again refused to confirm that Ed Miliband told the BBC that he wanted to “weaponise” the NHS in the election campaign.'
'The spokesman said: “I am not going to talk about words used in private conversations. They should not be shared and we will not talk about private conversations.'
Bit weird of you to use that NHS Providers site. Chris is here talking about the Conservative party making misleading claims:
> So here is a challenge to politicians who say they support the NHS. Be clear and straight about the numbers – for example, don’t double count what’s already been announced and don’t confuse five and one year commitments to boost a headline number. Acknowledge the scale of the funding needed to deliver services to meet our growing needs, and to rebuild our NHS, making it fit for the 21st century. That means looking beyond hospitals, important though they are, to other parts of the service which have suffered similar neglect, for which patients are today paying the price.
That "double counting" means that the amount of money being invested is less than claimed; the numbers of new staff being trained & recruited or retained is less than claimed; the numbers of new hospitals being built is less than claimed; etc.
The right would argue something like it's a trojan horse for spreading socialism more widely, or a means of bashing the government with constant attacks based on exaggerating its problems, scaremongering over potential reform/privatisation etc.
But anyway, before you attack it - I'm not the one that came up with it - that was the leader of the Labour Party Ed Milliband! It caused a political storm at the time. Clearly the media, political classes etc. did not consider it complete nonsense or they wouldn't have taken it seriously - nor would the government been able to hammer Milliband/the left with it for years.