"I'll cut the deficit, not the NHS." In the buildup to the 2010 election, David Cameron's big, serious face promised he wouldn't make NHS cutbacks. Eighteen months later, his government seems determined to dismantle the public sector. Breaking news: politicians lie.
It shouldn't be a surprise when Conservative MPs say one thing and do another. Take health secretary Andrew Lansley. He recently announced 60 new targets for GPs to meet, in order to receive appropriate funding. Compare this to Conservative Party health policy: "We will measure NHS success on the health outcomes that really matter to patients," it says, "not arbitrary Whitehall targets."
This might seem like a mixed message. But Lansley claims his targets are very different from those introduced by New Labour. His "outcome measures" focus on patient options, giving more flexibility when deciding which GP to visit, and greater involvement in clinical decision making. Labour, on the other hand, wanted a revolution in patient choice, and made patient centred care a priority. The differences are obvious and significant.
The Conservatives condemned Labour's red tape at the time. Maybe things seem different when you're in charge. Lansley's other big ideas for the NHS have not gone down well, and this recent announcement has the very limited merit of being exactly the same as the previous government's policies.
But following the New Labour rulebook won't work now. Their targets were right for the time, and duly adopted by GPs and hospitals. Lansley's proposals are already in place in most good NHS establishments. The health secretary should follow his own party's line, and move beyond targets.
Shadow health secretary Andy Burnham said doctors would "roll their eyes in disbelief" on hearing Lansley's announcement. He was right. I did. Rehashing the opposition's policy as radical original thinking does little to help an NHS struggling with cuts the government promised they'd never make.
If anything, Lansley's announcement is a distraction from the mess he's created through NHS reform. It was a speech full of old jargon about change that will change nothing.
Follow Joshua North on Twitter: www.twitter.com/drjoshnorth
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