FROZEN PLANET Tories attack Clegg over new bid to water down health reforms

‘Stage-managed enterprise’

NICK CLEGG was accused of ‘working against’ his Coalition partners last night after he demanded yet more changes to the Government’s troubled NHS reforms.

The Deputy Prime Minister has got David Cameron’s agreement to a string of amendments after signing off the legislation when it was first introduced and then obtaining a series of changes last spring.

Mr Clegg said that if the latest changes, which will limit competition and the role of the private sector, are approved by Parliament the reforms should be ‘allowed to proceed’.

The concessions agreed by the Prime Minister will help the Lib Dem leader survive his party’s spring conference next month which is likely to be dominated by demands from anti-privatisation activists. But Mr Clegg’s behaviour was called ‘outrageous’ by Tory backbenchers who said he should be bound by collective Cabinet responsibility.

The changes were announced in a letter from Mr Clegg and Lib Dem peer Shirley Williams. It was sent to all Lib Dem peers and MPS as the House of Lords reconvened to debate the Health and Social Care Bill.

The controversial legislation will give GPS control of most of the NHS budget and open up the Health Service to greater competition from the private and voluntary sector.

Mr Clegg and Baroness Williams said competition in the NHS must be in the ‘interests of patients and not profits’, adding: ‘ Given how precious the NHS is, we want to rule out beyond doubt any threat of a U.s.-style market in the NHS.’

The five changes Mr Clegg wants will reduce the remit of the Competition Commission, require foundation trusts to put patients’ interests first and get permission from their governors before carrying out extra private work, and force members of clinical commissioning groups to declare all financial interests.

Another is designed to insu- late the NHS from the full force of European competition law to prevent private takeovers of hospitals.

Mr Clegg’s language in the letter is in stark contrast to the way he talked about the health reforms at the start of the Coal i tion. In summer 2010 he signed the foreword to the White Paper outlining the original reforms. And when the Bill was introduced to Parliament he described them as a ‘fusion’ of the best of Lib Dem and Tory principles.

But when Lib Dem activists rebelled at their spring conference last March he changed his tune, demanding a ‘pause’ in the progress of the Bill and a ‘listening exercise’ with NHS staff.

This led to a raft of changes, after which Lady Williams and other Lib Dems declared themselves satisfied.

However, rumblings from party activists and peers appear to have forced Mr Clegg to demand more concessions.

A Whitehall source said Health Secretary Andrew Lansley was happy with the changes. It has yet to be decided whether Tory peers will be pressured to vote for the new amendments.

It appears Mr Clegg’s letter came as a surprise to many of his Coalition partners. Some observers say, however, it was a stage-managed enterprise to put him in a better light with his grassroots.

Yesterday morning, the Premier’s spokesman said they saw no need for any ‘significant changes’ to the Bill. At lunchtime Tory health minister Simon Burns insisted the whole Government backed the Bill.

But i n the afternoon, Mr Cameron’s spokesman revealed he had agreed to the changes the Lib Dems wanted.

Tory backbencher Priti Patel said: ‘It is outrageous that Nick Clegg is being allowed to do this. He is a member of the Cabinet and should be signed up to collective responsibility.

‘He should be putting the case to his Lib Dem colleagues as to why we need this Bill. He should not be actively working against the Government.’

Comment – Page 16