Andy Burnham goes way too far

There’s little denying that the planets aligned just right for Gordon Brown last week: a Tory in cahoots with those dastardly folk on the “American right”; a chance to defend that popular cause, the NHS; and all wrapped up in a funky new medium which the papers love to write about. But there are signs that, in their desperation to keep the #welovetheNHS story running, Labour are taking things way too far. I thought it a few days ago, when Andy Burnham called Dan Hannan “unpatriotic”. But now the Health Secretary has exceeded himself, with a press release he sent out last night which makes a series of bizarre demands of David Cameron. Here are some of the key passages and, I assure you, this isn’t a parody – this really is what the minister in charge of our health service spent part of his weekend arranging:

“Today I am challenging [David Cameron] to take three steps which could reassure people that the Conservatives have truly changed when it comes to the NHS.