Today's Prime Minister's Questions - text courtesy of Hansard. 8 June 2011

Edward Miliband: Why has he made such a mess of his health plans?

The Prime Minister: Yes, we are having a review of the plans that we announced on health: we want to get them right. I have to say again that there has been widespread support for the review of our health plans, not least from the man sitting four down from the right hon. Gentleman, the shadow Health Secretary—I know I often quote him—who said that

Thank you Alastair McLellan. The Health Service Journal's editor has jolted me out of my Yes Minister politician's syllogism conceptual reverie.

We are not in Yes Minister territory: that's far too tightly plotted.

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Our Prime Minister and Secretary Of State For Health Reforms, That Nice Mr Cameron, has promised that we're going to have clinical senates.

Clinical senates mean that we need a clinical Emperor.

Now I know this will go against the grain in the Nicholson Health Service, but I'm going to stick my neck out and suggest that perhaps this is one job that Comrade Sir David Nicholson should not be given.

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Tim Montgomerie edits the Conservative Home website, and has first-class access to the top of the party. His Twitter account is, therefore, well worth a browse.

And last night, he broadcast the following spectacular tweet: "Downing St source: We should now think of Cameron as Secretary of State for Health. The PM, not Lansley, will be selling govt's NHS policies".

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“A foolish consistency is the hobgoblin of little minds, adored by little statesmen and philosophers and divines.”
Ralph Waldo Emerson, ‘Self-Reliance’; founder of Transcendentalism

“Before I go on with this short history, let me make a general observation – the test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposed ideas in the mind at the same time, and still retain the ability to function.”
F Scott Fitzgerald, ‘The Crack-Up’


I think there is fairly little doubt that Nick Timmins of the Financial Times is the best journalist on health that this country currently has.

Acute observation and a deep understanding of his subject combines with the fairly unique situation of being held in high regard by most of his prey, of both the elected and civil service kind.

I had the enormous pleasure of editing a monthly column from Nick back in my time editing British Journal Of Healthcare Management. Our chats by phone and getting Nick's copy were unfailingly highlights of the cycle of each issue.

None of the main three Westminster parties can take immense comfort from the PoliticsHome polling on NHS reform. The full dataset is available here.

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The text of PM David Cameron's speech today on NHS reform

Three weeks ago, I made the case for change in our NHS.

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Before your questions, I want to talk about how I see the political landscape and then say something about the social care issue.

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Click here for details of 'The meat raffle and the King Of Skiffle - Does Your Health Bill Lose Its Flavour On The Bedpost Overnight?', the new issue of subscription-based Health Policy Intelligence.

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The Independent's political editor Andrew Grice reports that PM David Cameron's 'five NHS pledges' speech today will include the line "guarantees you can hold me to and that I will be personally accountable for".

Jesus. Does he seriously mean to end both clauses of a sentance with a preposition?

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