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Editor's blog Monday 23 May 2011: Health Secretary Andrew Lansley Guardian LiveBlog comedy

Publish Date/Time: 
05/23/2011 - 18:30

The number of things that Secretary Of State For The Time Being Andrew Lansley and I have in common is growing: we have both now done The Guardian's NHS Reform LiveBlog.

Though in fairness, he got asked a lot more questions than I did.

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Click here for details of 'Lansley: the NHS is not a mobile phone; I am not Henry V', via subscription-based Health Policy Intelligence.

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Mr Lansley's answers to questions can be found from pages 5 to 9 of the comments section here, and credit is due to him for his willingness to participate for an hour. He certainly encountered more robust questioning than anecdotal reports suggest has been encouraged at the stage-managed listening events.

Of course he picked what he answered, but he took on some of the issues.

A couple of points stuck out.

Mr Lansley answered a question from The Guardian's political editor Nick Watt thus: "You asked about what 'failures' I felt there had been ... I think there has been a lot of misinformation and misunderstanding out there about some of our proposals, which is exactly why I am doing this webchat to engage with people and explain our plans for modernisation of the NHS to safeguard it for the future".

He also said, in response to various questions about choice, "The British Social Attitudes Survey said that two thirds of people want choice".

Yes. Mmm. That would be the British Social Attitudes Survey whose DH funding is being cancelled, as Health Policy Insight exclusively revealed.