Ed Miliband urges Lib Dems to flatline NHS reform plans

The Health and Social Care Bill is set to resume its troubled parliamentary passage in the House of Lords, amid growing calls for a major overhaul.

Despite widespread opposition within the medical profession, David Cameron has given his full backing to Mr Lansley.

However, Lib Dem peers have tabled a series of detailed amendments while the party’s president Tim Farron is urging them to strip out all new competition elements from the legislation.

Writing in the Sunday Mirror, Mr Miliband said Lib Dems should now combine with Labour in the upper chamber to deal a death blow to the bill.

With the Lib Dem leadership facing a potential grassroots revolt over the issue at their spring conference next month, the Labour leader warned they could suffer an even bigger backlash than they did over student tuition fees.

“This week is the time for everybody to stand up and be counted. The Liberal Democrats in the House of Lords must join with Labour to hole David Cameron’s health plans below the water line,” Mr Miliband said.

“The House of Lords has the chance to puncture the arrogance of an out-of-touch Prime Minister who thinks he knows better than patients, nurses and doctors and persuade him to drop this bill.

“If they do not the betrayal by the Lib Dems in allowing this bill through will be bigger than the row over university tuition fees.

“They will betray not only the people who rely on today’s NHS, but also generations to come.”

Asked if Mr Lansley had messed up the design and the delivery of the health Bill, Chancellor George Osborne told Dermot Murnaghan on Sky News: “Well no, I’ve seen those reports, they’re not true.

“I absolutely believe we need to see the NHS Bill through and I think Andrew Lansley is doing an excellent job as Health Secretary.

“Let’s be clear, the reason why we need to see this reform of the NHS is because we are absolutely committed to an NHS that’s free at the point of use for people, but as the society ages, as we live longer, we have got to have an NHS that can afford new treatments and that’s an NHS that offers choice, that brings in different providers.”

Mr Osborne said reform was “always difficult”, but the Government was “absolutely going to proceed” with the health reforms.

He said that in Britain “whether it is education reform, pension reform, health reform, we are doing these things to improve public services and to do so in an environment in which the state does not have an unlimited amount of money so we are absolutely going to proceed with the health reforms because it is all about making the nation healthier and protecting and safeguarding our NHS for the future.”

Amid widespread criticisms that Mr Lansley has failed to explain his reform programme to the public, a Cabinet minister acknowledged they had to do more to make the case.

“All of us, not just Andrew, all of us have to do better in explaining why these reforms are taking place,” International Development Secretary Andrew Mitchell told BBC’s The Andrew Marr Show.

“These reforms stem from an absolute and total commitment to the NHS.”

Lib Dem deputy leader Simon Hughes confirmed the party’s peers would be seeking to amend the legislation to ensure the NHS was not subject to European competition law.

“Watch this space. You will see a bill that will protect and defend the NHS which was a Liberal idea in the first place,” he told BBC1’s Sunday Politics.