Lansley told to quit in vote of confidence

Medics went head to head with Mr Lansley last week over the Government’s pension reforms.

They took industrial action for the first time in almost 40 years to voice their anger at the proposals.

The BMA accused Mr Lansley of “breaching doctors’ trust” by tearing up the pension deal agreed four years ago.

Yesterday, delegates at the British Medical Association’s (BMA) annual conference in Bournemouth agreed on a motion calling for Mr Lansley’s resignation.

Delegates conference voted on the motion “This meeting has no confidence in Andrew Lansley, the Secretary of State for Health, and calls for him to resign”.

The motion won, with 158 delegates in favour and 124 against.

Dr Gary Marlowe, who presented the motion, told the conference: “I do not trust this man.”

Dr Marlowe accused Mr Lansley misleading doctors and the public during the election over his plans for the Health and Social Care Act, which became law in March.

He said: “During the election, there was no mention of a specific direction and/or any detail of the NHS reforms.

“By all accounts Mr Lansley has a long and detailed knowledge of the NHS and has been working on his plans throughout Opposition.

“It is clear that during the election he mislead the public and the profession.”

He continued: “The White Paper was published, it was a broad-stoke, essentially marketisation-focused approach. The detail and the consequences of the various parts of the Bill were completely absent.

“Either he knowingly did this or it was an incompetent, ill-thought-through White Paper.

“The Bill went through a stunning number of amendments and revisions. I believe the most of any Bill.

“How can we trust someone with such a poor record with our NHS?”