Editor's blog Tuesday 11 May 2010: A reading recap and a footnote while we are waiting

Hello there.

As negotiations over who may form a government continue, it might be useful to have a look through some of the options and positions.

HPI associate editor Tom Smith produced this useful rundown of the possible permutations of coalitions and implications for health policy, dubbing what is ahead 'a radical, unavoidable future for the NHS, whoever wins'.

Tom also gave us this rundown of the Kings Fund health hustings. I wrote a piece on the BBC Daily Politics health  hustings here.

Professor Alan Maynard has looked at the post-electoral policy challenges here. He also reviewed signs of confusion in Tory health policy here; and took a satirical perspective here.

Lib Dem health policy is covered here, here and here.

More can be found about Conservative health policy (including some unexpected positions) here, here, here and here. And here they are on funding all new cancer drugs, paid for in full by cutting the NI "jobs tax".

The prospect of Labour in a coherent, durable coalition is mathematically improbable. But as you know, their policy is more of the same. Their health manifesto was dissected here. And here is Boy Wonder Burnhoid on the 'preferred provider' nonsense.

A footnote
Just one last thing to consider - Conservative health policy has been pretty settled for years.

This being the case, why did David Cameron tell the Sunday Telegraph back in 2008 that 'the party is “not there yet” on health'?

Enjoy!