Critical health services may be on a knife's edge...

The Politics Show has learned that some Labour MPs in the most marginal seats have been given "carte-blanche" to campaign against plans to reorganise hospitals in England.

This would see a number of district hospitals being down-graded.

Party managers are concerned that a backlash against the plans could result in a spate of independent candidates challenging Labour MPs on the hospitals issue.

The Conservatives have seized on the plan, beginning a campaign to help activists attack "Brown's NHS cuts".

And David Cameron told the Conservative party conference last week that "it is not just a question of saying the NHS is safe in my hands - of course it will be. My family is so often in the hands of the NHS, so I want them to be safe there".

A senior Labour figure told the Politics Show: "The Conservatives see this as our Achilles' Heel and they are right".

No compromise

He added that while MPs had been armed with the arguments for hospital reform and told to campaign locally and work with local groups, there was "no master plan" for dealing with the issue.

And Number 10 is believed to be reluctant to compromise on reorganisation in the face of political pressure.

But with Tony Blair expected to step down in a matter of months, his successor may take a very different view when faced with the realities of a general election.

Join Jon Sopel and guests for the Politics Show on Sunday 08 October 2006 at 12:00 BST on BBC One.

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