Bad news for Nick Clegg, bad news for Andrew Lansley
Andrew Lansley’s current political problems are perhaps best summed up by one of the most vocal Cabinet ministers defending him in the last few days being Nick Clegg. When another party’s senior ranks is being more vocal in defending your job than much of your own side, things are not going well.
But it also leaves Nick Clegg and other Liberal Democrat Cabinet members in a rather bizarre position: being keener in public (and in private) on the NHS Bill than much of the Conservative Party.
Arguing that you are the smaller party in a coalition and have achieved some important changes to a piece of legislation that has come from another party’s Secretary of State is one thing. But then ending up being keener on seeing the Bill go through than much of the Secretary of State’s own party? That’s skirting with political disaster.
UPDATE: Shirley Williams has a plan.
Bad news for Nick Clegg, bad news for Andrew Lansley: http://t.co/9m7KYNcV
Worse for Clegg surely? Lansley heading to Mgt Consult sector? > MT @markpack: Bad news for Clegg, bad news for Lansley http://t.co/sWtDkY6H
I wish I knew Nick's thinking on this. Surely he knows how the party feels? Sometimes I think I have him sussed and know what he's going to do, but then he does the opposite. Simon Hughes left it wide open for him to criticise Lansley and the bill. I'm not sure what to make of it.
Personally speaking I'd like to see the Bill and Lansley dumped. But then I'm not privy to the internal workings of these decisions. And who am I to comment? It's like tuition fees all over again and it's kind of frustrating when we at grassroots have no way of communicating our concerns to the leadership. It may all be too late by the time we get to conference.
I'm giving Nick the benefit of the doubt that he knows what he is doing. But will someone please remind him of the tuition fees debacle. It feels like ground hog day sometimes.
A possible solution to the mess from our Shirley! http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2012/feb/13/health-social-care-bill-mess?CMP=twt_fd