If it isn't spin, what is it?

New Labour can be more open still

guardian.co.uk, Sunday 19 May 2002 17.30 BST

In the past fortnight, both Alastair Campbell and Peter Mandelson have renounced the 'spin' which has become synonymous in the public mind with New Labour. Their recantations have accompanied a series of apparently positive displays of political openness.

First came a pledge that the secretive system of briefing lobby correspondents is to be opened up. Then, Tony Blair disclosed that he will appear before a Commons Select Committee in future. Finally, the Prime Minister appeared in a series of in-depth interviews with Jeremy Paxman on BBC2's Newsnight. Subjecting himself to such scrutiny by an adversary of Paxman's reputation disarmed many who have accused Blair of being willing only to take on 'soft' interrogators.

So far, so good. Every small step towards openness in a Westminster world which has fetishised secrecy for far too long is to be welcomed. However, now the Government appears to be cooking its books yet again. Promises about future recruitment of doctors made after last month's Budget turn out, as we report today, to be in part a 're-packaging' of pledges already offered two years ago. Health Secretary Alan Milburn and Chancellor Gordon Brown have only themselves to blame if they are criticised for these unnecessary exaggerations.

But the overstatements still leave one question unanswered. Why on earth do Ministers still do it? In spite of every buffeting, Labour is still trusted far, far more than the Conservatives to run the NHS equitably and efficiently - as our YouGov opinion poll also reveals today. New Labour needs urgently to correct its unwillingness to tell voters the whole truth. If it does not, renunciations of 'spin' will start to look just as cynical and self-serving as spin looks itself.