He leant across the despatch box and looked slowly up and down the government front bench before saying, ‘This bill proves only one thing, my lords: dinosaurs are not only to be found in the Natural History Museum.’ He waited for the laughter to die down before he lowered his voice and continued, ‘Those of you who, like myself, have studied this bill word for word, will have noticed that one word is conspicuously absent. Search as I might, my lords, nowhere could I find the word “compassion”. But why should that come as a surprise, when the minister opposite, who will shortly present this bill, has herself personally denied hard-working nurses a living wage?’
Cries of ‘Shame!’ came from the opposition benches, as Giles stared across at his sister. ‘And you don’t have to read between the lines to understand that the government’s real purpose in this bill is to replace the word “National” with “Private”, because its first priority is to serve those who can afford to be sick, while leaving on the scrap heap those of our citizens who are unable to bear the cost. That is, and always has been, the overriding philosophy of this government.
‘My lords,’ said Giles, his voice rising in a crescendo, ‘I invite you to vote decisively against this iniquitous bill, so those same citizens can continue to enjoy the security of a truly national health service, because I believe that when it comes to our health, all men –’ he paused and stared across the despatch box at his sister – ‘and women, are born equal.
‘My lords, I don’t ask you, I beg you, to let your views be clearly heard by our fellow countrymen when you cast your votes tonight, and soundly reject this bill.’
He sat down to resounding cheers and the waving of order papers from behind him, and silence from the benches opposite. When the cheers finally died down, Emma rose slowly from her seat, placed her speech on the despatch box and gripped its sides firmly in the hope that no one would see just how nervous she was.
‘My lords,’ she began, her voice trembling slightly, ‘it would be churlish of me not to acknowledge the performance of my noble kinsman, Lord Barrington, but performance it was, because I suspect that when you read his words in Hansard tomorrow, you will see that his speech was long on rhetoric, short on substance and devoid of facts.’
A few muted ‘Hear, hear’s could be heard from her colleagues seated behind her, while the members opposite remained silent.
‘I spent seven years of my life running a large NHS hospital, so I don’t have to prove that I am just as concerned about the future of the National Health Service as anyone sitting on the benches opposite. However, despite all the passion mustered by the noble lord, the truth is that, in the end, someone has to pay the bills and balance the books. The NHS has to be funded with real money, and paid for with the taxes of real people.’
Emma was delighted to see a few heads nodding. Giles’s speech had been well received, but it was her responsibility to explain the finer details of the proposed legislation. She took their lordships through the substance of the bill clause by clause, but was unable to kindle the flame of passion that her brother had ignited so successfully.
As she turned another page, she became aware of what her grandfather, Lord Harvey, once described as losing the attention of the House, that moment when members become listless and begin chattering among themselves. Far more damning even than jeering or cries of ‘Shame’.
She glanced up to see an elderly peer nodding off, and when, moments later, he began to snore, the members seated on either side of him made no attempt to wake him, as they were all too clearly enjoying the minister’s discomfort. Emma realized the minutes were slipping away before the House would be asked to divide and the votes would be counted. She turned another page. ‘And now I would like to acknowledge the backbone of the NHS, our magnificent nurses, who—’
Giles leapt to his feet to interrupt the minister, and in doing so strayed on to enemy territory. Emma immediately gave way, allowing her brother to command the despatch box.
‘I am grateful to the noble lady for giving way, but may I ask, if she considers nurses are doing such a magnificent job, why are they only receiving a three per cent pay rise?’ Convinced that Emma was now on the ropes, he sat down to loud cries of ‘Hear, hear!’
Emma resumed her place at the despatch box. ‘The noble lord, if I recall his words correctly, demanded a fourteen per cent pay rise for nurses.’ Giles nodded vigorously. ‘So I am bound to ask him where he expects the government to find the extra money to pay for such an increase?’