U turns

It is a well known truth that one person'schange of policy is a humiliating climb down but to another, is an example of a sensitive government listening to public opinion and being prepared to alter its policies accordingly. Fine. The mistake the govermment has been making is to draft legislation first, frighten everyone to death and then change its mind when there is furious opposition. I hear that the NHS reforms were not even reported to Cabinet before they were made public. New policies and ideas need to be consulted on, floated to the public and then either dropped or pursued. That seems to be the mature way to go about decision making. I have some sympathy in that, once the coalition had agreed to frontload the expenditure cuts and savings, it was bound to be forced to make fast decisions. And of course we could plagiarise the well known maxim by saying 'make policy in haste, repent at leisure'. The root of the problem therefore is the speed with which the government is seeking to stabilise public finances. In time for 2015 perhaps or am I too cynical ?