No clear theme has emerged from the aftermath of the Tories' 2005 defeat. This contrasts with the strong emphasis placed on the public services after the 2001 defeat.
As leader, IDS put public service renewal at the heart of his policy reform process. The emphasis of the policies that emerged from that process (on choice and private sector opt-outs) have attracted criticism in recent weeks. MPs Nick Gibb and Gary Streeter, writing for The Times, called for Conservatives to become comfortable with the fact that the public services will overwhelmingly continue to be delivered by the state:
"To begin with, the party has to come to terms with, and be comfortable with, the fact that health and education, just like the police and the Army, are in the state sector to stay. This is a political fact. Since 1997, terrified of our opponents’ accusations that we would privatise everything, our approach has been to develop a few headline-grabbing polices — bringing back matron or giving head teachers the power to exclude disruptive pupils — in order to “neutralise ” health and education as issues so that we could talk about more “natural” Tory issues such as law and order and immigration... The choice and competition approach has allowed us to develop policies that enable the middle class to escape public sector provision altogether. But it has also meant that the Tories have not been able to speak convincingly to the millions who have no choice but to wait impatiently on hospital waiting lists or see their children failing to reach their true potential in the local comprehensive."
John Redwood remains very supportive of the 'choice' agenda, however. In The Business the Shadow Deregulation Secretary wrote:
"In the UK, we need to reduce the waste of the public sector and introduce real choice in public provision. All schools should be made independent, with free places for all who need them. There should be proper choice of doctor and hospital in the NHS."
John Redwood is right to say that Tories must continue to emphasise choice and competition. When faced with the possibility of losing patients and pupils, public service providers are forced to raise their game. Even if only a very few patients and parents exercise rights to opt-out of state-provided public services, everyone benefits if the opt-out threat increases standards within the state sector. With schools and hospitals still near the top of voters' concerns these vital debates should not be neglected.
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