And yet even Mr Lansley's critics agree that, as the former Independent MP for Wyre Forest Dr Richard Taylor puts it, "the NHS needs to change" - though he's urging "evolution not revolution" and is especially concerned by what he sees as Mr Lansley's failure to put patient safety at the heart of his recommendations.
The evolution of the stiff upper lip is unexpectedly complex - emerging out of the French revolution and the Napoleonic wars as a reaction to what Britain's rulers felt was a dangerous unleashing of unrestrained passion on the continent.