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Tory call for health bill changes | |
(about 2 hours later) | |
David Cameron should drop much of the controversial bill aimed at overhauling the NHS in England, according to the grassroots ConservativeHome website. | |
An editorial said putting the NHS back at the centre of debate was David Cameron's biggest mistake as PM. | An editorial said putting the NHS back at the centre of debate was David Cameron's biggest mistake as PM. |
Ministers have made concessions on the href="http://services.parliament.uk/bills/2010-11/healthandsocialcare.html" >Health and Social Care Bill to try to head off a rebellion by Lib Dem peers. | |
But PM David Cameron backed the bill on Wednesday - amid calls from Labour to drop it entirely. | |
He also stood by his health secretary, Andrew Lansley, amid speculation about his position following opposition to the bill from medical professionals' groups. | |
The plans would be the biggest shake-up since the founding of the NHS in 1948 and would put GPs in control of much of its budget. | |
Among concessions offered by the government have been strengthening the accountability of the health secretary, to guarantee "beyond doubt" his duty to keep the overall NHS intact. | |
BBC political correspondent Iain Watson said the government had felt it had done enough to win over sceptical Lib Dem peers, but the ConservativeHome article suggested the bill was now being attacked from a new flank. | |
The article by the website's editor Tim Montgomerie calls for much of the bill to be scrapped and says three Conservative cabinet ministers have contacted him with concerns. | |
He says the "unnecessary and unpopular" bill could cost the party the next general election - and urges the prime minister to "kill it". | |
He told the BBC there was "huge concern" about the NHS bill in the Conservative party - and said there was a feeling that most of the changes needed to improve efficiency could be achieved without the bill. | |
He said that if David Cameron chose to carry on with the bill, it would be blamed for all the problems the NHS would have faced anyway, because of tight spending over the next few years | |
"I think that is the most dangerous path for him. I think it will be a millstone around the Conservatives' neck because all problems will be blamed on the bill unfairly." | |
He added that while scrapping the most contentious bits of the bill and looking for cross-party consensus would be "embarrassing in the short run" - it would take the heat out of the NHS row. | |
This week the government made 136 changes to its own plans to reform the NHS in England to try to get the bill through the House of Lords, where peers are examining it clause by clause. | This week the government made 136 changes to its own plans to reform the NHS in England to try to get the bill through the House of Lords, where peers are examining it clause by clause. |
The bill's proposals include putting GPs in control of much of the NHS budget, and encouraging greater competition with the private sector. | The bill's proposals include putting GPs in control of much of the NHS budget, and encouraging greater competition with the private sector. |
Opposition to the bill from medical professionals - including the British Medical Association and the Royal College of Nursing - has led to speculation about Health Secretary Andrew Lansley's position. | Opposition to the bill from medical professionals - including the British Medical Association and the Royal College of Nursing - has led to speculation about Health Secretary Andrew Lansley's position. |
However, in a letter to the Times this week, 54 NHS Trust directors backed the plan to allow hospitals to raise up to 49% of their income from private patients, saying there were "sound medical and clinical reasons" for it. | However, in a letter to the Times this week, 54 NHS Trust directors backed the plan to allow hospitals to raise up to 49% of their income from private patients, saying there were "sound medical and clinical reasons" for it. |