What the Tories should learn from Gordon Brown's U-turn

Nick Robinson reports something that has been hinted at for a while now - Gordon Brown has dropped his mad, bad idea of an independent NHS Board.

This prompts two thoughts.

First, Gordon Brown's reputation as an incubator of solid and deep policy ideas is massively overblown. That this idea was a silly one was obvious from the get-go, yet for quite a while he allowed it to be seen as his flagship new idea.

Now that he has dumped it, what is he left with? Not much on the NHS if Nick Robinson's list is anything to go by.

My second thought is that it is interesting how little impact on Brown's reputation this incident has had. Consider the fuss made about the much smaller mix-up in Tory grammar school plans. It is much easier to be inconsistent in office than in Opposition.

That is something the Tories now need to take note of. Brown may have backed off the silly NHS independence plan (my explanation of its silliness is here) but the Conservative Party still favours it. I don't think the policy will survive a great deal of scrutiny.

And if they are forced to dump it, they should not expect the same muted reaction that greeted Mr Brown's U-turn.

Comments

[John Allen]

I don't like Brown, but in his defence, I've had a hard time pinning down where he actually said he would create an NHS board. It's all journalistic innuendo about 'close sources', or Ed Balls talking about Brown's devolutionary economic policy as a possible model for the public services. This might be why he can get away with abandoning the policy: he never stated it was his policy at all.

A spin-doctor's distinction, perhaps. But it matters. The Tories' mistake (as with grammars) was fully to adopt a policy, and to proclaim it enough times for any subsequent retraction to qualify as a u-turn. I don't think the media is laying off Brown because it wants to. On this one, it's just too flimsy to accuse him of changing his mind when he never stated his mind was made up.

[nick humfrey]

I agree with John Allen and I think it's ridiculous to suggest it is harder to be inconsistent in opposition. It's easier if anything. Apart from John's important reason it strikes me there are two other reasons why grammar schools became so big: firstly because grammar school are such an emotive conservative issue and was seen as a step too far for many on the right of the party. But secondly frankly because Cameron hasn't sign posted many policies so people were very interested in the reaction to it.