David Cameron ready to force through NHS reforms...
"David Cameron is said to be willing to endure three final months of political controversy to push the health bill through parliament, but is convinced there is no serious dissent in his cabinet, parliamentary party or in the country at large.
No 10 argues that if the coalition did suddenly drop the bill, as some ministers are privately suggesting, the Conservatives would still be unable to avoid the political blame for closures and job losses likely to happen anyway due to long-term financial pressures on the NHS." - Guardian
• Rocky three months ahead over health Bill, warns No 10 - Daily Telegraph
• Andrew Grice: Cameron could live to regret his reluctance to kill the Bill - Independent
> From yesterday:
• ToryDiary: The unnecessary and unpopular NHS Bill could cost the Conservative Party the next election. Cameron must kill it.
• Baroness Warsi on Comment: As Conservatives it is our duty to support the NHS Bill
• Reform's Nick Seddon on ThinkTankCentral: The NHS Bill should not be dropped - it is only the start of the reforms we need to make
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..But "half the Cabinet" is "in despair"
"Half the Cabinet is ‘in despair’ at Government plans to reform the NHS, sources claimed last night. ... But last night a dozen members of his top team were in private revolt – hopeful that the Bill or its creator, Health Secretary Andrew Lansley, will ‘go away’." - Daily Mail
• Lansley rejects calls to resign as Tory mutiny threatens health Bill - Independent
• "Mr Clegg has spent months trying to persuade his party to support the health reforms, but he believes coalition unity could be undone" - FT (£)
• Matthew Parris: Sure-footed bore required to replace Lansley - The Times (£)
• "For the six years since he took over the Tory party, Mr Cameron has sidestepped political clarity. The stresses are starting to show, and the fiasco over the NHS is only the most toxic sign of them. It is time for the Prime Minister to demonstrate real leadership and give his Government a clear sense of direction. He does not have long." - Independent editorial
• "Other ministers and MPs were against any full-scale retreat. It’s too late, they said, to abandon the reforms. But I couldn’t find a single person who was enthusiastic about the Bill. No one who would defend the Bill with gusto and no one had anything but scorn for the whole way that the saga had been handled." - Tim Montgomerie for the Times (£)
