Health under New Labour
The relentless politicisation of health under New Labour, which gathered momentum when the prime minister assumed personal responsibility for the modernisation of the NHS in early 2000, is destined to intensify the process of medicalisation - and the problems of the medical profession and the health service.

The key problem is that, just as the role of medicine in society has expanded, the NHS is called upon to play an ever wider role in the life of the nation. When most other institutions that once inspired popular loyalty are now, like the Royal Family, widely scorned, and attempts to foster a collective spirit around Britpop and the Dome have proved a big disappointment, New Labour is left with that great standby of Old Labour politicians, the "jewel in the crown" of the post-war welfare state - the NHS.

Michael Fitzpatrick The Tyranny of Health: Doctors and the regulation of lifestyle (2001)