Jeremy Hunt says Health Secretary will likely be his last "big job" in politics, so what has the junior doctors' dispute cost him?
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| Jeremy Hunt does not regret his dispute with junior doctors |
His calm delivery and emollient manner made Jeremy Hunt a ministerial "fireman" for the coalition and the current Conservative government.
But the increasingly bitter industrial dispute with junior doctors has made him a divisive figure; a lightning rod for BMA negotiators and a bogeyman for the striking doctors, who've mostly retained public support.When he said on Radio 4 that this could be his "last big job" in politics, pundits questioned whether he was on a political suicide mission, throwing himself on a grenade for his Oxford contemporary David Cameron.
:: Junior Doctors Are 'Wrong' To Strike, Says PM
However, his aides quickly tried to douse the social media fire, saying "it's probably the biggest job he'll have, he is determined to do it well and to keep doing it for years to come."
But, like Denis Healey during the Winter of Discontent and Peter Walker in the miner's strike, Mr Hunt will be indelibly linked to the breakdown in talks which resulted in the first all-out strike to hit the NHS.
A successful entrepreneur who made millions from his academic publishing firm, the Health Secretary rose swiftly through the political ranks under Mr Cameron's patronage.
After three years shadowing the brief, he became Culture Secretary in 2010.
That saw the highs of the hugely successful London Olympics, but controversy too as opponents questioned his decision not to refer the proposed takeover of Sky News owner BSkyB by News Corporation to the Competition Commission.
:: Why Are Junior Doctors Striking?
It emerged his special adviser Adam Smith had exchanged several emails with News Corp's director of public affairs.
Smith resigned and Mr Hunt dodged a bullet when he was not only cleared of bias by Lord Leveson but praised for his handling of the bid.
But parachuted into the Department of Health in 2012 to replace the unpopular Andrew Lansley, he made even fewer friends.
Capping pay rises for some NHS staff and embarking on the negotiations to introduce a "truly seven day week health service," he even faced a "no confidence" debate in the House of Commons after a petition received more than 100,000 signatures.
His decision to impose the junior doctor contract has made him even more unpopular, even though a Government source suggests he is holding the line on Government orders.
The Prime Minister is understood to be worried that other public sector unions may turn their austerity fuelled grievances into industrial action.
Mr Hunt clearly has the Prime Minister's confidence, but the atmosphere is now so toxic it may prove politically impossible for him to bridge the divide in this fractious dispute.
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