View all newsletters
Sign up to our newsletters

Support 110 years of independent journalism.

  1. Politics
19 January 2011

PMQs review: Miliband zeroes in on Cameron’s NHS gamble

The PM is still unable to justify the scale of the coalition’s health reforms.

By George Eaton

After last week’s ferocious encounter, this week’s PMQs was a much more sedate affair. Ed Miliband zeroed in on two of the Prime Minister’s weak spots – rising unemployment and NHS reform – but struggled to land a knockout blow.

There was never any chance of Cameron putting a positive gloss on “very disappointing” figures that show unemployment up by 49,000 and youth unemployment heading towards the one million mark. In response, Miliband accused the Prime Minister of “complacency” and of “cutting too far and too fast”, lines that will resonate with the public. But Cameron’s retort that youth unemployment persistently rose under Labour was indisputable.

Miliband fared better on the NHS, the PM once again struggling to justify the scale of the reforms planned by the coalition. The Labour leader’s demand for Cameron to “guarantee” that waiting times will not rise may have been rather juvenile, but with NHS satisfaction at an all-time high, it is the PM who could find himself on the wrong side of public opinion.

Cameron repeated his mantra that we must “get value for the money we put in” but did nothing to explain why abolishing primary care trusts and handing 80 per cent of the NHS budget to GPs will achieve this. With the Tory-led health select committee warning that the changes have not been “sufficiently explained” and the Conservative MP Sarah Wollaston likening the reforms to tossing a “grenade” into the system, concern extends well beyond the usual trade union quarters.

Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com Our Thursday ideas newsletter, delving into philosophy, criticism, and intellectual history. The best way to sign up for The Salvo is via thesalvo.substack.com Stay up to date with NS events, subscription offers & updates. Weekly analysis of the shift to a new economy from the New Statesman's Spotlight on Policy team. The best way to sign up for The Green Transition is via spotlightonpolicy.substack.com
  • Administration / Office
  • Arts and Culture
  • Board Member
  • Business / Corporate Services
  • Client / Customer Services
  • Communications
  • Construction, Works, Engineering
  • Education, Curriculum and Teaching
  • Environment, Conservation and NRM
  • Facility / Grounds Management and Maintenance
  • Finance Management
  • Health - Medical and Nursing Management
  • HR, Training and Organisational Development
  • Information and Communications Technology
  • Information Services, Statistics, Records, Archives
  • Infrastructure Management - Transport, Utilities
  • Legal Officers and Practitioners
  • Librarians and Library Management
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • OH&S, Risk Management
  • Operations Management
  • Planning, Policy, Strategy
  • Printing, Design, Publishing, Web
  • Projects, Programs and Advisors
  • Property, Assets and Fleet Management
  • Public Relations and Media
  • Purchasing and Procurement
  • Quality Management
  • Science and Technical Research and Development
  • Security and Law Enforcement
  • Service Delivery
  • Sport and Recreation
  • Travel, Accommodation, Tourism
  • Wellbeing, Community / Social Services
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
THANK YOU

Cameron was forced to restort to the Brown-type boast that the coalition offers “investment” while Labour offers “cuts”. The suggestion that state spending is a good in itself won’t have gone down well with the right of his party.

Under pressure, the PM wisely avoided some of the crude insults that marred last week’s performance, though inevitably some old favourites returned (“back to the blank sheet of paper”). But it is Miliband’s warning that the PM appears increasingly “arrogant” that should occupy his mind today.

Content from our partners
Development finance reform: the key to climate action
Individually rare, collectively common – how do we transform the lives of people with rare diseases?
Future proofing the NHS

Select and enter your email address Your weekly guide to the best writing on ideas, politics, books and culture every Saturday. The best way to sign up for The Saturday Read is via saturdayread.substack.com The New Statesman's quick and essential guide to the news and politics of the day. The best way to sign up for Morning Call is via morningcall.substack.com Our Thursday ideas newsletter, delving into philosophy, criticism, and intellectual history. The best way to sign up for The Salvo is via thesalvo.substack.com Stay up to date with NS events, subscription offers & updates. Weekly analysis of the shift to a new economy from the New Statesman's Spotlight on Policy team. The best way to sign up for The Green Transition is via spotlightonpolicy.substack.com
  • Administration / Office
  • Arts and Culture
  • Board Member
  • Business / Corporate Services
  • Client / Customer Services
  • Communications
  • Construction, Works, Engineering
  • Education, Curriculum and Teaching
  • Environment, Conservation and NRM
  • Facility / Grounds Management and Maintenance
  • Finance Management
  • Health - Medical and Nursing Management
  • HR, Training and Organisational Development
  • Information and Communications Technology
  • Information Services, Statistics, Records, Archives
  • Infrastructure Management - Transport, Utilities
  • Legal Officers and Practitioners
  • Librarians and Library Management
  • Management
  • Marketing
  • OH&S, Risk Management
  • Operations Management
  • Planning, Policy, Strategy
  • Printing, Design, Publishing, Web
  • Projects, Programs and Advisors
  • Property, Assets and Fleet Management
  • Public Relations and Media
  • Purchasing and Procurement
  • Quality Management
  • Science and Technical Research and Development
  • Security and Law Enforcement
  • Service Delivery
  • Sport and Recreation
  • Travel, Accommodation, Tourism
  • Wellbeing, Community / Social Services
Visit our privacy Policy for more information about our services, how New Statesman Media Group may use, process and share your personal data, including information on your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications.
THANK YOU