JOHN REID has struggled hard this year to meet what must surely be one of the main criteria for his new job as Health Secretary — giving up smoking.

Dr Reid, whose doctorate was in African economic history rather than medicine, is the first Scotsman to take charge of England’s health service. The pugnacious 56-year-old Glaswegian today begins his fifth Cabinet post and his fourth in under a year.

Dr Reid’s rise can be traced back to a lecture in 1994 from the late Labour leader John Smith, who warned him to give up drink or give up his political ambitions. He conquered his fondness for Scotch and came out strongly for Tony Blair in the leadership campaign that followed Mr Smith’s untimely death, marking him out as an enemy of fellow Scot Gordon Brown.

But the man named Scotland’s champion smoker in 1999 took longer to end his 40-year, 40-a-day habit. Marriage last year to Carine Adler, a glamorous Brazilian film director, has helped to motivate him to manage a virtually smoke-free six months.

Dr Reid, MP for Hamilton North and Bellshill since 1987, met Ms Adler two years after his first wife, Cathy, died suddenly from a heart attack in 1998. He met Cathy at a school party while both were teenagers. They had two sons.

He was Leader of the Commons for just 69 days after the mini-reshuffle to replace Robin Cook in April. Before that he spent 162 days as Labour Party chairman after 22 months as Northern Ireland Secretary, the first Roman Catholic in the post.

As party chairman, Dr Reid was a staunch defender of the private finance initiative, one of the main complaints of health sector unions.

Last month Downing Street chose him to lead the Government’s fightback against claims that its Iraq dossier was exaggerated, briefing the media that there were “rogue elements” in the secret services.

Dr Reid has travelled far from his roots in the Scottish Communist Party and is set to follow Mr Milburn’s aggressive approach to NHS reform. There are seven years left to run of the ten-year NHS plan and a series of key reforms are hanging in the balance.

Mr Milburn’s Health and Social Care Bill is half way through its committee stage and facing attacks from MPs in all parties. The rebellion of 65 Labour backbenchers against foundation hospitals in May is likely to be repeated when the Bill returns to the Commons next month.

David Hinchliffe, Labour chairman of the Commons Select Committee on Health, had a simple piece of advice for Dr Reid. “The message is, drop foundation hospitals . . . If you could drop part one of the Bill, many of us, including a few government ministers, will be very, very happy.”

Even supporters of foundation hospitals believe that the Bill is fundamentally flawed. Frank Field, Labour MP for Birkenhead, said: “I supported it enthusiastically because it was making the NHS a consumer rather than a producer-led service. But the Bill is a shambles. We are going to seek constructive amendments.”

As well as the Bill, Dr Reid faces verdicts next week on the vexed issue of new contracts for consultants and GPs. Consultants in England voted against a national contract and hospitals are due to report by Monday on talks on local incentive schemes.

Ballots at 30 hospitals reported to the British Medical Association so far have shown almost no support for the idea. There is likely to be better news next Friday in a ballot of GPs. They are likely to vote in favour, narrowly, of a new national contract deal.

Liam Fox, the Shadow Health Secretary, called Dr Reid’s appointment “a dog’s breakfast”. He said: “The absurdity of John Reid’s appointment is that we now have an MP representing a Scottish constituency telling us how to run the NHS in England when he has no say over health policy in Scotland because the issue is devolved.”

The main changes

OUT

• Lord Irvine of Lairg retires as Lord Chancellor and the title retires with him after 14 centuries of use
• Alan Milburn resigns as Health Secretary
• Helen Liddell stands down as Scotland Secretary; the new Department of Constitutional Affairs will take over her duties
• Brian Wilson resigns as Energy Minister

IN

• Lord Falconer of Thoroton replaces Lord Irvine as head of Department of Constitutional Affairs. The new department will take over the roles of the Scotland and Wales Offices
• A new Supreme Court will replace the Lords’ judicial functions
• John Reid becomes Health Secretary
• Peter Hain replaces Dr Reid as Leader of the House. He will also speak on Welsh matters in the Commons
• Alistair Darling, the Transport Secretary, will speak on Scottish affairs in the Commons
• Junior ministerial changes will be announced today

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