I watched a programme last night on Channel 4 HD about the discovery and subsequent forensic analysis of a mummified baby mammoth in the Arctic wastes. I was struck by a number of things.

First of all, the science involved in finding out the age of the baby when it died, how and why it died, and what its stomach contents and teeth could tell us, was totally absorbing and clever. The scientists extracted mother’s milk, which was just one of many incredible finds. Another was the fact that the baby consumed its mother’s faeces in order to imbibe the gut bacteria that would be necessary for it to move onto solid food.

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The Tories really haven’t changed that much when it comes to their core values—if you can call them values—since the post-WWII days when they stood against the foundation of the National Health Service, and fought tooth and nail for this country not to provide free care for all citizens regardless of income or status. These classic haves are compelled by instinct and design to lord it over the have nots and those who have… well, not as much as they do.

This is why in 2010 they are refusing to take part in a conference about the future of social care in England. The Tories claim the attempt by the Labour government to achieve cross-party consensus in talks with care providers and charities over options for a national care service is a “political ploy” aimed at instigating a “death tax”–reminding us in tone and language of the shrill hysterical outbursts of US Republicans fighting the formation of a Stateside NHS.

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