EAST Lancashire Labour rebel Gordon Prentice today urged the Government to drop its proposal for Foundation Hospitals and warned he was ready to vote against the plan again.

Last night, the Pendle MP joined a Labour back bench revolt which saw the Government's majority cut to just 35.

Only the support of Scottish MPs, to whom Foundation Hospitals does not apply, enabled the Government to defeat an amendment deleting the new status from the Health and Social Care Bill.

Mr Prentice believes Foundation Hospitals, run by local boards with extra powers to raise money and set their own pay and conditions for staff, will create a two-tier health service.

Now, Tories, Liberal Democrats and Labour rebels in the Lords plan to try and torpedo the Foundation Hospitals proposal and public section union UNISON is planning a summer campaign of opposition to the proposal, ending with a debate at the Labour conference in the autumn.

Mr Prentice said: "The Bill will go to the House of Lords where it will probably be mangled. When it comes back to the Commons I shall vote against Foundation Hospitals again.

"This is Maoism -- constant reorganisation we don't need. There have been 18 reforms of the health service in 20 years. We simply don't need another one. These proposals have not been thought out and I still hope we can stop them."