Editor's blog 6th October 2008: new Hope for health

Just when I was thinking my powers of prophecy might be waning (see the second paragraph of this), my not-very-difficult deduction that Ivan Lewis was off proved correct. Lewis has been sent by Gordon Brown to International Development - a slightly sadistic form of gardening leave.

Thanks to Martin Rathfelder of the Socialist Health Association for sending me this link to a magnificently appropriate photo of Ivan Lewis.

In comes Phil Hope MP for Corby and East Northamptonshire. There's no very obvious health stuff in his background, other than bering a former member of the National Advisory Group on Personal, Social and Health Education (DFEE): he's an ex-PPS to John Prescott, and was Minister for Skills at the Department For Education And Skills 2005-7.

After that, Gordon Brown appointed him Minister for the Third Sector in the Cabinet Office in June 2007, when he also held the post of Minister for the East Midlands (Ben Bradshaw, his colleague at Heath, is Minister for the South-West).

Phil Hope declares no interests in the Members' Register.

Welcome to health, as they say ...