Has Lord Darzi’s interim NHS review been ‘brought forward’ for political purposes? Hardly. All the review’s communication since its inception has said ‘October’, as Darzi tried valiantly to explain in this morning’s Today Programme interview. But he might equally have pointed out that when Alan Johnson announced the review in the Commons, on 4 July, he said:
Professor Darzi will complete an initial assessment in three months’ time to inform the comprehensive spending review.
Do the maths. 4 July plus three months is 4 October. Which is today, to the very day in fact. It’s a pity the reporters – eg Nick Robinson, Niall Paterson – haven’t looked at either Hansard or the review’s own website to discover this. But equally, I have to say, it’s a bit disappointing that the review team haven’t posted something on their website to this same effect.
Response
I think major announcements such as today’s NHS review and the comprehensive spending review next week will all be reported through the prism of ‘cynical electioneering’ for as long as Brown remains silent on the issue. Even when as you point out there is evidence to the contrary, the ‘election ploy’ charge is going to stick, mainly as a result of Brown’s ill-advised announcement on troop withdrawals on Tuesday.