Jeremy Hunt’s tough talk on the NHS doesn’t address the toughest question of all: what is the purpose of modern medicine?

Jeremy Hunt’s quiet demeanour is deceptive. The Health Secretary has a bit of what my late grandfather called ‘iron in the soul’ – a measure of self-confidence, calculation and the determination not to let the bastards get you down. ‘Iron in the soul’ came in handy during the Burma campaign in the Second World War. And I imagine that it’s vital if one is to prosper as Secretary of State for Health.

Hunt was sent to the Department of Health last year in order to clean up the political mess left by Andrew Lansley. Hunt’s tenure has been beset by scandals beyond his or his predecessor’s control – from Mid Staffs to A&E, with numerous others in between (about which Jane Kelly wrote so vividly in the Spectator a few weeks ago). This has changed the terms of the NHS debate. It used to be that the ‘nasty Tories’ posed an existential threat to the NHS.