Mandelson and Brown are trying to play up Dan Hannan’s comment that “If the Americans came to me and said, ‘Would you recommend us taking up a system just like the British NHS?’, I think I would have to say ‘No.”

That whole line of attack has just fallen apart: President Obama has told Americans he would not use Britain’s “socialised” system as a model.

He also told an audience in Montana yesterday that he would not implement a “big government solution”. Obama said that a government-run system was not being proposed, nor was he seeking a “socialised” system; “I’m not in favour of a British system”. Looks like he don’t love the NHS…