Skip to main content

Is David Cameron lining up Stephen Dorrell to replace Andrew Lansley?



Whitehall permanent secretaries placing bets that John Major's last health secretary will return to the cabinet
Share 27




inShare4
Email



Andrew Lansley, the health secretary, is in a precarious political position. Photograph: Dan Kitwood/Getty Images


Buy Dorrell and sell Lansley. That is the advice doing the rounds at senior levels of the Whitehall stock exchange.

Britain's grandest share market, run by the Sir Humphreys who preside over Whitehall departments, has reached a settled view. Stephen Dorrell, Sir John Major's last health secretary, is on course to replace Andrew Lansley, the current holder of the post, when the "listening exercise" on NHS reforms ends next month.

The mandarins have concluded that Lansley is a busted flush for one simple reason: the coalition will never be able to sell its NHS reforms as long as he remains in office.

Over the cheap coffee served at their meetings – the days of a whisky in grand clubs are long gone – the permanent secretaries believe Lansley is now a liability as David Cameron and Nick Clegg attempt to strike a difficult balance on the NHS.

On one hand the prime minister and his deputy need to continue with the spirit of the reforms to hand commissioning powers to GPs. On the other hand Cameron and Clegg have to show that real and substantive changes are being introduced to the reforms.

While relations among coalition ministers are tense ahead of Thursday's AV referendum, the interests of Cameron and Clegg on the NHS are combining, though for different reasons:

• The deputy prime minister will not be able to persuade Liberal Democrat MPs and peers to vote for the health and social care bill unless he can point to real changes.

The Lib Dems will also need to show they can influence a key and controversial area of government policy as they recover from an expected defeat in Thursday's referendum. The party's ministers have recently come to realise that they are not house guests in a Conservative government. They are joint, though not equal, tenants and can demand changes.

• The prime minister needs to show some contrition and to demonstrate that the NHS reforms have been amended. This is because Andrew Cooper, his director of strategy who is a distinguished pollster, has made clear that he will risk heading into the next general election with poor poll numbers on health unless he acts. Better to take a hit now, however humiliating, than squander six years of work which reassured voters that the NHS is safe in Tory hands.

This is where Lansley enters the picture. The prime minister is furious with Lansley for failing to build a foundation for the reforms by explaining why it is necessary to transfer commissioning powers from Primary Care Trusts to new GP-led consortia. They will be responsible for 60% of the NHS budget by 2013.

Cameron believes Lansley, who was first appointed to the health post in opposition in 2003, is so close to the subject that he failed to understand the need to explain how a series of challenges meant that reform is essential. These are: a tough budget settlement, compared with funding over the last decade when NHS spending rose by up to 5 percentage points above inflation a year; an ageing population; and the need to make £20bn of savings over four years inherited from Labour.

So the mandarins believe that removing Lansley – and probably his Lib Dem ministerial colleague Paul Burstow as well – will be the best way to demonstrate that the "listening exercise" is real. Michael Crick speculated in a blog last week that Lansley could switch jobs with Philip Hammond, the transport secretary. But Lansley told the RCN last month that he would not do any other job in cabinet.

This is where Dorrell enters the picture. He is currently chairman of the commons health select committee which concluded in a recent report that the GP-led consortia should be widened to include representatives of nurses, hospital doctors and public health experts. This is what Cameron told the Andrew Marr Show on Sunday of the "listening exercise":


I've been...going to hospitals quite quietly, no fanfare, sitting in a room with doctors and nurses and midwives and others, and managers, and asking them what they think. And some very clear messages are coming back. They like the basics of the reform, but they've got some clear pointers about hospital doctors having greater involvement in these things and I hope we'll be able to satisfy those demands and bring together.

So Cameron has warmed to Dorrell's ideas. Whether the prime minister will reward him with a cabinet post is probably not as clear as the mandarins think. If Lansley leaves the cabinet he might be tempted to point out that he was keen to explain his reforms which were included in the Tory manifesto. He was, however, blocked by Andy Coulson who feared unsettling voters on the NHS ahead of the election.

Popular posts from this blog

Study Abroad USA, College of Charleston, Popular Courses, Alumni

Thinking for Study Abroad USA. School of Charleston, the wonderful grounds is situated in the actual middle of a verifiable city - Charleston. Get snatched up by the wonderful and customary engineering, beautiful pathways, or look at the advanced steel and glass building which houses the School of Business. The grounds additionally gives students simple admittance to a few major tech organizations like Amazon's CreateSpace, Google, TwitPic, and so on. The school offers students nearby as well as off-grounds convenience going from completely outfitted home lobbies to memorable homes. It is prepared to offer different types of assistance and facilities like clubs, associations, sporting exercises, support administrations, etc. To put it plainly, the school grounds is rising with energy and there will never be a dull second for students at the College of Charleston. Concentrate on Abroad USA is improving and remunerating for your future. The energetic grounds likewise houses various

Best MBA Online Colleges in the USA

“Opportunities never open, instead we create them for us”. Beginning with this amazing saying, let’s unbox today’s knowledge. Love Business and marketing? Want to make a high-paid career in business administration? Well, if yes, then mate, we have got you something amazing to do!   We all imagine an effortless future with a cozy house and a laptop. Well, well! You can make this happen. Today, with this guide, we will be exploring some of the top-notch online MBA universities and institutes in the USA. Let’s get started! Why learn Online MBA from the USA? Access to More Options This online era has given a second chance to children who want to reflect on their careers while managing their hectic schedules. In this, the internet has played a very crucial in rejuvenating schools, institutes, and colleges to give the best education to students across the globe. Graduating with Less Debt Regular classes from high reputed institutes often charge heavy tuition fees. However onl

Sickening moment maskless 'Karen' COUGHS in the face of grocery store customer, then claims she doesn't have to wear a mask because she 'isn't sick'

A woman was captured on camera following a customer through a supermarket as she coughs on her after claiming she does not need a mask because she is not sick.  Video of the incident, which has garnered hundreds of thousands of views on Twitter alone, allegedly took place in a Su per Saver in Lincoln, Nebraska according to Twitter user @davenewworld_2. In it, an unidentified woman was captured dramatically coughing as she smiles saying 'Excuse me! I'm coming through' in the direction of the customer recording her. Scroll down for video An unidentified woman was captured dramatically coughing as she smiles saying 'Excuse me! I'm coming through' in the direction of a woman recording her A woman was captured on camera following a customer as she coughs on her in a supermarket without a mask on claiming she does not need one because she is not sick @chaiteabugz #karen #covid #karens #karensgonewild #karensalert #masks we were just wearing a mask at the store. ¿ o