What part has the current health secretary played?
Mr Milburn’s replacement, John Reid, had the sticky job of pushing the government’s controversial health and social care (community health and standards) bill, which contained the foundations legislation, through parliament. He eventually managed to outdo Labour’s backbench rebels, led by former health secretary Frank Dobson and the Commons health select committee’s chairman, David Hinchliffe, and squeezed the policy through the house on a majority of just 17 votes. But this required the government making a string of last minute concessions: letting local authorities nominate a representative onto the foundation trust board; backing the Co-operative group of Labour MPs’ amendments to ensure that all parts of the community were represented in the membership of foundations; and letting health workers who have been contracted out of the NHS and are employed by private companies join in the voting for staff representatives. Why did Labour’s backbenchers stage a revolt? Opponents of foundat
