Generic problems

There is an interesting article in the FT by the head of the British Generic Manufacturers Association, whose members make cheap medicines for the NHS and many others.

It warns that the huge savings the NHS makes by buying non-branded pills, which runs to many billions a year is at risk. The three main reasons are.

The lack of an industrial strategy to help this sector, which is so bad the government does not even respond to letters from the industry.

Brexit

and spending cuts at the MHRA, the medicine regulator, which means it has a huge backlog of drugs to approve.

It is the perfect example of what is so terribly wrong with this government.

Lazy, ideologically incapable of seeing government has to help industry, the support of Brexit, which puts barriers to trade, adds costs and creates miles of red tape, and mad spending cuts which hurt the economy more than they ever save.

The idea that austerity worked is destroyed by examples like this, there are many more; such as companies having to pay more for the police to protect their factories and products, the collapsing court system and today’s news from the IFS on how brilliant Sure Start was at helping poor children. Sure Start even paid for itself in higher taxes and fewer NHS referrals but was killed by the Tories the first chance they got in favour of austerity and trickle down economics.

The Tory party just believes in impossible things, mainly because it wants to. Tax cuts bring in more money, spending cuts are harmless and painless, Brexit works, trickle down economics is moral, the poor don’t need help they need forcing into work.

And they want to do more of these things, that is how they plan to “balance the books” after the general election.

Jonty’s Jottings

Economics, trade and Brexit, not necessarily in that order but the dog always comes first.

By Jonty Bloom Media