Shrinking the State ? Change and Continuity in Public Service Reform

Abstract

It is often asserted that the transition from New Labour to a Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition government in 2010 marked a decisive break in terms of public service policy. That break was one characterised in particular by the apparent switch from profligacy to austerity with regard to spending on public services with a concomitant shrinking of the State. This paper seeks to demonstrate that this narrative masks considerable continuity between the two periods, indeed over the past thirty-five years. It begins by demonstrating that the change of direction in economic policy, though significant, was not as unambiguous as it may appear. It then notes that, in any case, this change did not lead to any diminution of state power. On the contrary, as the private sector has come to play an ever-greater role in the delivery of public services, the British State has further extended its already significant role in legitimising and facilitating the marketisation of public services, thus promoting corporate welfare. Meanwhile, the demos have found themselves disempowered, regardless of the discourse of localism and the promised decentralisation of power from the centre.