Tribune – Comment, news and reviews from Britain's democratic left

The shape of things to come? The right-wing Reform think-tank proposes that thousands of hospital beds in England should be axed. As well as saving money, this would improve care, it claims – although it is not immediately apparent how. The Government’s anaemic response was that this is a matter for local health chiefs. The British Medical Association has a bit more fire in its belly. Such cuts implemented solely for financial reasons would be “immoral”.

We’ve got some great articles coming up on TribuneMagazine.co.uk later this week. Tomorrow, Sally Hunt explains why cutting education in a recession is breathtakingly stupid, and on Thursday, criminologist David Wilson will look into the James Bulger murder case, and argue that Venables and Thompson shouldn’t have gone to jail in the first place. More reasons to come back to this site every day… but even more of a reason to read Tribune in print: the only way of getting all of Tribune’s articles in advance of their publication on the web.

In the mean time, there are some excellent articles elsewhere on the web which might interest Tribune readers:

* Mike Smithson asks whether UKIP voters might be the key to any Tory victory
* On Liberal Conspiracy, David Semple speaks out in defence of the Union Modernisation Fund
* Left Foot Forward’s Sarah Ismail writes about how thousands of disabled people have lost out on benefits they are entitled to
* James Maker puts the case for scrapping Trident on LabourList
* The Guardian’s always excellent Polly Toynbee on an antidote to New Labour