01 October 2004
The battleground for the next general election was established this week as choice and the personalisation of public services, as the Labour Party began to flesh out its policies to 'empower' the consumer.
Prime Minister Tony Blair set the tone in his September 28 speech to the party conference with his vision of making the 'individual the driver of the system, not the state'. He set out to claim choice as a 'progressive' Labour policy, despite its use by the Conservatives, and announced a ten-point plan for a third term in government.
Health Secretary John Reid, the most enthusiastic supporter of choice in Blair's Cabinet, rammed the message home 24 hours later with a subtle broadside at the unions.
With his eye on a union-sponsored motion insisting the government must 'safeguard public services without recourse to market forces', Reid said: '[Choice] will throw up challenges in the future. With New Labour it's going to be a bit more difficult to do deals in smoke-filled rooms.'
In a speech thin on policy announcements but big on the rhetoric of choice, Reid pledged that waiting times from visiting a GP to an operation will be no longer than 18 weeks by 2008. Patients will also be able to book appointments from more convenient places, such as train stations.
He dismissed claims that Labour was backing itself into a corner by raising expectations it couldn't meet. 'Personalising our services isn't just a response to the expectations of the better-off, it's also a route to addressing the disadvantages of some in Britain.'
Earlier in the week Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott announced the rolling out of the choice-based lettings scheme for all social tenants in rented accommodation within five years.
Education Secretary Charles Clarke outlined the 'most important choice of all', placing under-fives services top of Labour's agenda with promises of flexible childcare for all and a children's centre in every local community by the end of the next Parliament.
Despite the speeches and announcements, the push behind this agenda was clear: fear of apathy at the polls and a desperate drive to re-engage with potential voters.
'People do see what's happening but don't relate it to politics,' Home Secretary David Blunkett told a fringe event on civic renewal. 'Those who see assets in the community and where they came from are more likely to vote.'
Outside of the obvious choice agenda were several policies to keep unions and the disaffected at bay. Prescott's contribution came by offering surplus public land to build '£60,000 starter homes' for first-time buyers.
Reid announced that he would act on ending the two-tier workforce in health within weeks, pledging that there would be no more cut-price NHS cleaning contracts.
PFoct2004
