The Prime Minister, it seems, is now finally accepting what everyone else has been
saying for a long time: that the NHS reforms were dangerous and would hurt the government. If Nick Clegg forced a re-think — even one that is supported by many Tories — then he may, in
the end, play a greater part in delivering the next election for Cameron’s party than many triumphalist right-wingers now realise.
For CameronCare was badly-timed, poorly-delivered and strikes at the heart of the PM’s message that the Conservative Party can be trusted. Large-scale reforms need time. Time for people to accept a problem. Time for people to accept the solution. Where the government has put in the graft, spent years highlighting a problem and then offered a solution, the reforms have been accepted. Think education, or welfare reform. But where reforms have been sprung on people — like the defence cuts — they are either obstructed or become a liability for the government.
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