Morning Report – May 16th

Jim Murphy, the shadow defence minister, is heading to the US – according to a report in The Times(£) this morning – to meet with President Obama’s senior aides and discuss campaigning techniques. Murphy – who has been put in charge of reviewing the Scottish Labour Party after recent disastrous Scottish Parliament campaign – will be looking into the use of e-campaigning.

David Cameron is back banging the drum for NHS reform, arguing that he will change the NHS to “save” it. Was the NHS in need of saving before Andrew Lansley started tinkering with it? Probably not. In fact it had scored well in international comparisons. The “pause” and “listening exercise” will need to do more than persuade the public that the NHS changes are a good idea – they’ll need to persuade the Lib Dems first. Shirley Williams has written for the Guardian today, and draws a big red Lib Dem line – Cameron must distance himself from those who would privatise the NHS. The battle lines are drawn, but which side is the DPM on?

Meanwhile police officers aren’t very happy about the cuts that they’re facing. A survey has found that 98% of them believed morale was falling due to proposed changes to pay and conditions and job cuts. Yvette Cooper will want to seize on this as proof that the Tories are not only cutting frontline police, but damaging the force as a whole at the same time.

Elsewhere, Vince Cable has unveiled plans for mothers and fathers to share parental leave, and Nick Clegg is seeking to distance himself(£) from Lords reform for fear that he will look more interested in constitutional reform than the day to day business of government. And probably because he’s politically toxic too…