Editor’s blog Thursday 22 July 2010: On the way to Reform

Good morning.

This comes from a train on my way to Reform's health half-day conference (and what a good length for a conference that is).

'Delivering A New Health Agenda' promises us Sophia Christie,
Cynthia Bower, Health Minister Simon Burns, Nico Hencke, Roger Taylor, Stephen Dorrell, Steve Bundred and Alan Maynard of this parish. I'll keep you updated.

Health Secretary Andrew Lansley is doing a live webcast-chat on the Number 10 website at 10.30 am today, when the conference will be going on, so for goodness' sake, don't any of you ask him any awkward questions.

Those of you who have been following the employment tribunal events between John Watkinson and the Royal Cornwall Hospitals Trust, involving NHS South West, may be interested to learn that the Western Morning News reports Watkinson's solicitor as revealing that the appeal by the trust pertains only and exclusively to the whistleblowing issues - the trust is not disputing the Employment Tribunal's unanimous unfair dismissal ruling.

This article on the Labour leadership, by The Independent's Steve Richards, is worth a read.

Oh and if you've heard any more about the delays to the Whtie Paper consultations, drop me a line - editorial AT healthpolicyinsight.com

Quick update: two very good value panel sessions, and a really remarkable speech by Health Minister Simon Burns. But not in a good way. Remarkably poor engagement with questions. Tried telling off Sophia Christie for honestly representing the fact that some of her poor population have a reading age of an eight-year old. Politicking of an unworthy kind.