‘We need to be ready for two years of recession’

11 February 2009

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Alistair Darling says economic growth will return this year. But Alan Johnson, the normally chirpy Health Secretary, tells Fraser Nelson that Britain needs to brace itself

While the Conservatives have supported the government on welfare reform, there has been no support on the remaining health reform. ‘We asked GPs to open in the evenings and on Saturdays. The Tories opposed it, using the same argument as the GPs — that accountants don’t open on a Saturday morning so why should GPs? They actually helped write the doctors’ petition. They went marching with them. As the Health Service Journal said, it’s easy to oppose closures; it takes a real perverse genius to oppose openings.’

Yet David Cameron’s strategy is to make the public consider there is no risk to the NHS from Tory cuts: hasn’t he proved himself a worthy opponent? This Mr Johnson will grant — in part. ‘Initially, Cameron had people looking at him and thinking: he’s likeable, fresh and different from the other Tory leaders. He took his copy book from Anthony Charles Lynton Blair. In the early stages that worked.’ But that was then — now, Mr Johnson argues, this charming man is beginning to irritate the public.

‘Now, he’s not so fresh and he’s not so new. And, actually, not so likeable. He’s got to watch this Flashman tendency coming back in.’ You read this correctly: Harry Flashman, the womanising, cowardly bully from the George Macdonald Fraser novels. ‘There is something of the Flashman about the way he acts at the dispatch box, particularly with the Prime Minister,’ Mr Johnson proceeds to explain. ‘You might call it the Bullingdon Club. There is a bit of arrogance there, and that is not very likeable.’

If he is right, the opinion polls show little sign that the public agree with this assessment. I ask if Mr Johnson sees in the British jobs for British workers imbroglio the signs of Labour’s core vote deserting the party. ‘Among core voters, we have kind of reconnected — in the sense of being concerned about child benefit, making sure pensioners are looked after,’ he says. ‘I think our issue is: how do we reconnect with the seats that we won that are not our core vote, how do we keep together the great coalition that Blair won in ’97 and won again in 2001 and 2005?’

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Kram Ekosum

February 12th, 2009 7:03pm Report this comment

An interesting man is Alan Johnson. Very slick politician, completely underated by some. He must be following almost identical policies of his predecessor Hewitt but he actually has some "witt", unlike her. NHS reforms are hardly new and most of the ideas have been centralising until Blair & acolytes suggested ALBs. Their sentiment is correct assuming true objective independence is maintained from politicians. Arguments about 'accountability' are the typical politicians wheeze to maintain their control freakery! Currently politicians are amongst the least accountable members of society when trouble strikes. Agree that Cameron can seem arrogant especially at weekly PMQs. However Cameron is also one of the first politicians since Blair who gets visibly publically upset, giving you the impression that he actually really cares(is it just good acting?). Polls are notoriously unreliable but if the economic gloom persists on New Labour's watch it is only fair that the (un)government loses. That's democracy....

Mrs Josephine Hyde-Hartley

February 12th, 2009 7:12pm Report this comment

Yes but it's no good clinging to nurse when nurse feels like she's being torn apart, with one face to the management ( eg "targets" or this increasingly inappropriate excuse of " security") and one face to the patient. It seems to me that citizens need to make that metaphorical nurse turn round to face us fair and square in order to support our individual civil and human rights first- as a matter of public interest. Protection of our needs as patients or citizens or anything else starts most noteably with our being able to safeguard each others rights to decline to provide consent, in whatever market without fear, favour or further explanation. I think it’s absolutely necessary to remind any untoward effectors of so called executive powers that so many disgraceful burdens which reflect badly on everyone could and should be nipped in the bud at the local level eg when we raise our concerns appropriately as individual citizens, employees or whatever by working in partnership to share perceived risks. I call this approach RISC (see NHS Best research for best health strategy). It's a seriously good idea if we’re interested in equally respectful and dignified new ways of working and may even help create new jobs.

Brian Clarke

February 13th, 2009 1:30pm Report this comment

We should not forget that was Mr Johnson who capitulated, in his pervious incarnation, to the Unions, allowing them early retirement as the expense of the Private sector. He has done almost as much damage to Pensions as Gordon Brown's £110bn Pensions raid. He is a Big State man - just the sort of person whom the country does not currently need.

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