Ellee Seymour

 You’ll be kicking yourself if you miss Newsnight tonight as the slick new 18 Doughty Street goes through the Paxman grilling.

This is how they are plugging it:

“18 Doughty Street is the internet TV channel dedicated to all things political. The creators say that the mainstream political process is ignoring huge swathes of public opinion - a niche they propose to fill by running attack adverts sponsoring arguments on both sides of the political debate (or so they say).

“Is this the start of a new Americanisation of British politics or have the authors misjudged our political culture? “

American politicians have fully embraced the social media in the nomination contest for the next presidential election, they realise the importance of winning over sceptics, that they need to engage in open interaction to prove politicians are listening to the electorate and showing their “true” face.

Here is a perfect example. I have just had an email from Welwyn Hatfield MP Grant Shapps inviting me to tune in to a live online debate he has arranged this week to discuss proposed axing of acute services in his local hospital. He even has the Chief Exec of his  health trust taking part. That is fantastic, how else would the ordinary man in the street have the chance to speak directly to his MP and health chief? I just love the way Grant works, here is one of his YouTubes.

Just as the government had extensive warnings about prison overcrowding in the last few years, it was also aware of the shortage of midwives putting mothers and babies at risk.

Three years ago, “truly alarming” figures revealed that the number of midwives intending to work in the NHS was falling sharply.  Labour pledged to increase the numbers so that every pregnant woman would be cared for throughout by the same nominated midwife. 

Yet research shows that many baby units are failing to meet targets for the number of midwives and that Labour’s promise is far from being achieved.

Shortages of midwives often led to maternity unit closures; in the past year, units in England were closed for almost 4,000 hours, or 165 days. This meant that women expecting to give birth at a particular hospital were transferred elsewhere at the last minute.

Dedicated community midwives have also been severely affected. Following restructuring at Hinchingbrooke Hospital, Huntingdon, they have been told to reapply for their job - at £1,500 less a year.

One midwife described their demoralised feelings:

“We feel downtrodden, we feel downhearted, we feel betrayed.”

Another angry midwife blamed hospital’s mismanagement, that they were having to pay for the mistakes of others. In fact, the future of Hinchingbrooke’s maternity unit is still in doubt following a review to find ways to claw back the hospital’s £29.9 million deficit.

One would imagine that a shortage of midwives would mean hospital managers treated them with the highest regard; reducing their pay does not reflect the value placed on their work.

I benefited from this community service following the birth of my two sons, one of whom was born with a fractured collar bone. Those home visits were crucial in providing assurances. Community midwives can pick up signals like post-natal depression, they help new mums overcome fears and difficulties with first-time parenting. They are being treated shabbily. Is it any surprise they are leaving the NHS?

With Gordon Brown’s admission that politicians had failed to use the internet to communicate, that they have to adjust to the growth of “audience power” through the rise of blogging, I wonder if he is closely following the new Politicopia site in Utah - a wiki for open government.

It enables people to comment on legislation being considered by the State, and is described as “an experiment in open democracy”.

Ross Mayfield thought this was the first time that an elected official had initiated a political wiki. That may be the case in the US, but I must leave a comment and tell him about Minister Miliband’s sobering experience which badly backfired.

However, Politicopia seems to be doing rather better, it asks commenters to register first in an attempt to deter spammers and trolls.

Ross helped set up the socialtext wiki with Utah State Representative Steve Urqhart, Chairman of the Rules Committee that decides which legislation goes to the floor. He is urging people to “have fun and get involved”. And after its first week, he reckons it has been a hit. Some of the hot topics currently being debated range from obesity and abortion to education and illegal immigrants.

“One week into the experiment, Politicopia is working. Citizens are participating and citizens are being heard. Legislators are talking to me about things they’ve read on Politicopia. Because of input I received, I have changed a position I’ve held for years. Already, citizens are using Politicopia to shape the debate. As a matter of fact, a reporter emailed me, to ask why Politicopia wasn’t linking to her article. That has never happened in the two-plus years I’ve been blogging.”

So this is proof that wikis can work if not abused by mischief-makers, is it something our politicians should be doing to promote open government? Or has the Miliband experience put them off?

Hat tip Geoff Jones.