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Labour Government (labour + government)
Kinds of Labour Government Selected AbstractsSymposium on Welfare Reform under the Labour Government: Part I, Editorial NoteFISCAL STUDIES, Issue 4 2002Article first published online: 2 FEB 200 This symposium arises from a one-day conference held at the Institute for Fiscal Studies on 22 May 2002. The papers presented on that day considered the social security reforms during the first term of the Labour government from a number of perspectives. The three articles published here , and the further three that will follow in Part II of the symposium , are drawn from a broader range of disciplines than is usual for Fiscal Studies papers. [source] New labour and reform of the English NHS: user views and attitudesHEALTH EXPECTATIONS, Issue 2 2010Andrew Wallace PhD Abstract Background, The British National Health Service has undergone significant restructuring in recent years. In England this has taken a distinctive direction where the New Labour Government has embraced and intensified the influence of market principles towards its vision of a ,modernized' NHS. This has entailed the introduction of competition and incentives for providers of NHS care and the expansion of choice for patients. Objectives, To explore how users of the NHS perceive and respond to the market reforms being implemented within the NHS. In addition, to examine the normative values held by NHS users in relation to welfare provision in the UK. Design and setting, Qualitative interviews using a quota sample of 48 recent NHS users in South East England recruited from three local health economies. Results, Some NHS users are exhibiting an ambivalent or anxious response to aspects of market reform such as patient choice, the use of targets and markets and the increasing presence of the private sector within the state healthcare sector. This has resulted in a sense that current reforms, are distracting or preventing NHS staff from delivering quality of care and fail to embody the relationships of care that are felt to sustain the NHS as a progressive public institution. Conclusion, The best way of delivering such values for patients is perceived to involve empowering frontline staffs who are deemed to embody the same values as service users, thus problematizing the current assumptions of reform frameworks that market-style incentives will necessarily gain public consent and support. [source] The symbolic state: a British experienceJOURNAL OF PUBLIC AFFAIRS, Issue 4 2003Nicholas O'Shaughnessy Abstract This paper aspires to introduce a new word into the political lexicon. It argues that Britain's ,New' Labour Government embodies a phenomenon for which the word ,spin' is descriptively inadequate. New Labour actually represents something much more radical and important than this,an entire regime whose core competence has lain in the generation of imagery. Its directors recognise that, in a sense, words speak louder than actions, and that the production of the correct imagery is politically more significant than the creation and execution of policy, the old concept of governing. While the paper discusses the ethical and the social consequences of this evolution, it also suggests that such symbolic government is the almost inevitable response of governing elites to an inquisitorial and relentless modern media. Copyright © 2003 Henry Stewart Publications [source] From Competition to Collaboration in Public Service Delivery: A New Agenda for ResearchPUBLIC ADMINISTRATION, Issue 1 2005Tom Entwistle Competition was one of the guiding threads of public policy under the Conservative Governments of the 1980s and 1990s. But whereas the Conservatives looked to the market primarily for the disciplining and economizing effects of competition, the Labour Government sees the market as a source of innovation and improvement. Following a brief description of these different perspectives, this paper identifies three avenues deserving of further inquiry: the costs and benefits of high trust interorganizational relationships; the way in which partnerships combine the competencies of different sectors; and finally, the extent to which the new partnerships transform public service delivery. [source] The regulatory state and the UK Labour Government's re-regulation of provision in the English National Health ServiceREGULATION & GOVERNANCE, Issue 4 2009John S. F. Wright Abstract Following its election in 1997, the UK Labour Government embarked upon a 10 year program of reform of the National Health Service (NHS). By 2005, Labour had doubled the NHS budget and dramatically transformed the shape of the Service. In England, a basic characteristic of the NHS is the organizational split between provider and commissioning agencies. In this article I argue that Labour's re-regulation of NHS provision is a coherent representation of the influence of the "regulatory state" in restructuring arrangements between government, market, and society. The article offers an account of the regulatory state based on a discussion of five key theses: The Audit Society, Regulation Inside Government, The New Regulatory State, The British Regulatory State, and Regulatory Capitalism. The article unfolds Labour's program of reform across themes common to these accounts: the division of labor between state and society, the division of labor within the state, the formalization of previously informal controls, and the development of meta-regulatory techniques of enforced self-regulation. It concludes that the key themes of the regulatory state are at work in Labour's transformation of NHS provision and it offers a discussion of the implications for both scholars of regulation and the UK and European health policy literature. [source] International Promises and Domestic Pragmatism: To What Extent will the Employment Relations Act 1999 Implement International Labour Standards Relating to Freedom of AssociationTHE MODERN LAW REVIEW, Issue 3 2000Tonia Novitz This paper explores the rhetoric and reality surrounding implementation of international labour standards in the Employment Relations Act 1999. It focuses on UK commitments relating to freedom of association and considers whether the new legislation goes any significant way towards their fulfilment. The paper begins by outlining obligations which arise from a state's membership of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and ratification of ILO Conventions. It then goes on to examine indications that, since the change of government in 1997, there has been a significant shift in UK policy relating to such international obligations. The remainder of the paper examines reforms made by the Employment Relations Act to trade union recognition, protection of strikers from dismissal and prevention of anti-union discrimination. It emerges that the Third Way proposed by the present Labour Government entails a complicated detour from the path of full compliance with ILO standards. [source] Symposium on Welfare Reform under the Labour Government: Part I, Editorial NoteFISCAL STUDIES, Issue 4 2002Article first published online: 2 FEB 200 This symposium arises from a one-day conference held at the Institute for Fiscal Studies on 22 May 2002. The papers presented on that day considered the social security reforms during the first term of the Labour government from a number of perspectives. The three articles published here , and the further three that will follow in Part II of the symposium , are drawn from a broader range of disciplines than is usual for Fiscal Studies papers. [source] Local Government Reform In Britain 1997,2001: National Forces and International TrendsGOVERNMENT AND OPPOSITION, Issue 2 2003Michael Cole This article considers the origins of the local government reform agenda of the 1997 to 2001 Labour government. The analysis identifies a wide range of factors including recurring themes in the debate about local government, market mechanisms, Labour Party politics, the traditions of the British state, the constitutional reform agenda and the international context. This study also develops the notion of shifting constraints to explain this process and the agenda of the current Labour administration. [source] A Hard Time to Be a Father?: Reassessing the Relationship Between Law, Policy, and Family (Practices)JOURNAL OF LAW AND SOCIETY, Issue 4 2001Richard Collier This article seeks to unpack the way in which a constellation of ideas around what it means to speak of ,good fatherhood' has come to inform a series of debates, after the election of the New Labour government in 1997, around the content and contours of paternal responsibility. Via a focus on family law and recent developments around the idea of ,work-life' balance, it discusses the concepts underpinning present debates. In questioning the still-powerful (if frequently unspoken) influence of social constructionist ideas of sex/gender, it explores and question how men's ,family practices' have been understood. [source] A Parliamentary Victory: The British Labour Party and Irish Republican Deportees, 1923PARLIAMENTARY HISTORY, Issue 2 2010IVAN GIBBONS After the 1918 general election the Labour Party became the official opposition party at Westminster. In response to the growing Irish republican campaign to establish an independent Irish state the Labour Party had to re-assess its relationship with Irish nationalism. The Labour Party was now acutely conscious that it was on the verge of forming a government and was concerned to be seen by the British electorate as a responsible, moderate and patriotic government-in-waiting. Although it had traditionally supported Irish demands for home rule and was vehemently opposed to the partition of Ireland, the Labour Party became increasingly wary of any closer relationship with extreme Irish nationalism which it believed would only damage its rapidly improving electoral prospects. Therefore the Labour Party supported the Anglo-Irish Treaty of 1921 even though it underpinned the partition of Ireland and sought to distance itself from any association with Irish republicanism as the new Irish Free State drifted into civil war. In early 1923 the Parliamentary Labour Party (PLP) alighted upon the new issue of the arrest and deportation without trial, to the Irish Free State, of Irish republicans living in Britain who were obviously British citizens. The attraction of this campaign for the Labour Party was that it enabled the party to portray itself as the defender of Irish people living in Britain without having to take sides in the Irish civil war. In addition the Labour Party was able to present itself as the protector of civil liberties in Britain against the excesses of an overweening and authoritarian Conservative government. One of the main reasons the issue was progressed so energetically on the floor of the House by the new PLP was because it now contained many Independent Labour Party (ILP) ,Red Clydesiders' who themselves had been interned without trial during the First World War. Through brilliant and astute use of parliamentary tactics Bonar Law's Conservative government was forced into an embarrassing climb-down which required the cobbling together of an Indemnity Bill which gave tory ministers retrospective legal protection for having exceeded their authority. By any standard, it was a major achievement by a novice opposition party. It enhanced the party's reputation and its growing sophistication in the use of parliamentary tactics benefited it electorally at the next election which led to the first Labour government. [source] Change in Order to Conserve: Explaining the Decision to Introduce the 1958 Life Peerages ActPARLIAMENTARY HISTORY, Issue 2 2009PETE DOREY The introduction of life peers in 1958 represented the 20th century's most significant change in the composition of the house of lords, until the removal of (most) hereditary peers in 1999. Yet the 1958 reform was introduced by a Conservative government which was under no discernible pressure to do so, least of all by its own back benchers. Yet the Conservative leadership in both houses of parliament decided to seize the initiative on house of lords reform, partly to enable the house of lords to discharge its political responsibilities more effectively, thereby preventing it from atrophying, and partly to pre-empt more extreme reform by a future Labour government. Yet having agreed to undertake such a reform, senior Conservatives encountered a range of often unforeseen constitutional and political problems, which ensured that the final reform was actually rather less comprehensive than many ministers had originally envisaged. [source] Britain and the Working Time RegulationsPOLITICS, Issue 1 2001Alasdair Blair It is now over a year since the Working Time Regulations entered force in Britain on 1 October 1998, during a period when the government also introduced the minimum wage. But whereas that piece of legislation appears to have faded away into the background of British industrial relations, the Working Time Regulations continue to remain a central topic. Based on a survey of British companies and organisations, this article reviews the implementation of the legislation and examines the scope of coverage. It finds that the failure of the Labour government to consult the social partners , employer and employee representatives , resulted in business being unprepared for the Regulations. The article also notes that the manner in which this legislation was introduced has meant that many of the employees who were working excessive hours continue to do so. [source] Tightening the net: children, community, and controlTHE BRITISH JOURNAL OF SOCIOLOGY, Issue 2 2001Adrian L. James ABSTRACT The recent move to revitalize social democracy in the UK under the New Labour government, explored by Giddens as ,the Third Way', embraces many of Etzioni's ideas on communitarianism. The principles that emerge from these political philosophies, such as the involvement of local communities in policy consultations and implementation, have largely been welcomed as a reflection of the aim of revitalizing civic society in the context of a range of social policies. It is argued, however, that for children, contrary to this general trend, many of these policies represent attempts to increase the social control of children. Their effect has been to restrict children's agency and their rights, rather than to increase their participation as citizens, and thus, in spite of the requirements of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, children continue to be marginalized. [source] Social Exclusion and the Politics of Criminal Justice: A Tale of Two AdministrationsTHE HOWARD JOURNAL OF CRIMINAL JUSTICE, Issue 4 2000Mark Drakeford This article deals with the relationship between the emerging criminal justice and social policies of the 1997 Labour government. It analyses the legacy inherited from the previous Conservative administrations and explores the extent to which policy making in the one area is now influenced by activity in the other. The authors suggest that the objects of criminal justice policy are most likely to be achieved when understood and developed within a social policy context. They conclude, however, that in a number of important aspects, the current government seems more likely to pursue social policy objectives by invoking the instruments of criminal justice. [source] Treating Voters as an Afterthought?THE POLITICAL QUARTERLY, Issue 1 2009The Legacies of a Decade of Electoral Modernisation in the United Kingdom Over the past decade, the UK's New Labour government has been at the forefront of efforts internationally to modernise electoral procedures, promising to deliver ,an e-enabled, multi-channel general election by 2006'. This paper considers the origins and the impacts of reforms to UK electoral procedures with a particular focus on the adoption of postal voting on demand and pilots of electronic voting and counting since 2000. The paper concludes that the principal legacy of the modernisation agenda to date is likely to have been a negative impact on public confidence in the electoral process. [source] Coming in From the Cold: The Role of Trade Unions on Public Policy Bodies at a Regional Level, with a Focus on London, the Southeast and the East of EnglandANTIPODE, Issue 5 2001Laurie Heselden This short article will review the comparative contribution of trade unions to the design and implementation of public policy before and after the election of the Labour government, 1 May 1997. The article will then explore those factors that have proved to be obstacles to trade union's greater or more effective engagement in public policy formulation. Finally, I will recommend possible remedies to alleviate those obstacles. [source] Have Unions Turned the Corner?BRITISH JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS, Issue 2 2006New Evidence on Recent Trends in Union Recognition in UK Firms This paper reports results from a recent survey conducted on unionization in over 650 firms in the private sector in the UK. The survey shows that since 1997 there has been a slight fall in derecognition, but a relatively large increase in union recognition. This increase in new recognition agreements is consistent with the idea that the incoming Labour government had a positive effect on the ability of unions to gain recognition, either through the 1999 legislation or more indirectly through changing the political climate. [source] Is There a Third Way for Industrial Relations?BRITISH JOURNAL OF INDUSTRIAL RELATIONS, Issue 1 2004Chris Howell There has been little systematic analysis of what the ,Third Way' means in the sphere of industrial relations. This paper examines the record of the New Labour government in order to evaluate the distinctiveness, innovation and coherence of its industrial relations policy. It argues that many of the limitations of this policy result from the institutional context within which it was introduced. In comparative perspective, Third Way industrial relations can be thought of as a policy adaptation specific to centre,left governments in weakly co-ordinated liberal market economies. [source] Unravelling control freakery: redefining central-local government relationsBRITISH JOURNAL OF POLITICS & INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, Issue 3 2003David Wilson Central-local relations have been of particular interest since the Labour government came to power in 1997. Both academics and practitioners have pointed to tensions within the Labour government's reform agenda,between a ,top-down' and ,bottom-up' approach; between a drive for national standards and the encouragement of local learning and innovation; and between strengthening executive leadership and enhancing public participation. It is argued that while Labour's modernisation strategy has clear elements of a top-down approach (legislation, inspectorates, white papers, etc) there is also a significant bottom-up dimension (a variety of zones, experiments and pilots, albeit with different degrees of freedom). This article utilises a multi-level governance framework of analysis and argues that, while much of the research using such frameworks has hitherto focused on the EU, recent developments in governance at neighbourhood, local authority, sub-regional and regional levels facilitate its application within a nation state. The central thesis is that, while there is extensive interaction between actors at sub-national level, this should not be seen as a proxy for policy influence. The local political arena is characterised less by multi-level governance than by multi-level dialogue. Sub-national actors participate but they are rarely major players in shaping policy outcomes: the plurality which characterises sub-central governance does not reflect a pluralist power structure. [source] Early childhood services: evolution or revolution?CHILDREN & SOCIETY, Issue 3 2003Gillian Pugh This paper considers what progress has been made towards the development of a coherent national policy on services for young children under eight and their families. Since the election of a ,new' Labour government in 1997, services for children and families have been higher on the public agenda than at any time in living memory. Much has been achieved, through additional funding, expansion of services, and a more coordinated approach to service provision. But there is still a severe shortage of day care places for children under three, too few appropriately trained staff, a heavy reliance on short term funding, and no agreement on the overall policy on and purpose of early childhood services. Copyright © 2003 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. [source] Unravelling control freakery: redefining central-local government relationsBRITISH JOURNAL OF POLITICS & INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, Issue 3 2003David Wilson Central-local relations have been of particular interest since the Labour government came to power in 1997. Both academics and practitioners have pointed to tensions within the Labour government's reform agenda,between a ,top-down' and ,bottom-up' approach; between a drive for national standards and the encouragement of local learning and innovation; and between strengthening executive leadership and enhancing public participation. It is argued that while Labour's modernisation strategy has clear elements of a top-down approach (legislation, inspectorates, white papers, etc) there is also a significant bottom-up dimension (a variety of zones, experiments and pilots, albeit with different degrees of freedom). This article utilises a multi-level governance framework of analysis and argues that, while much of the research using such frameworks has hitherto focused on the EU, recent developments in governance at neighbourhood, local authority, sub-regional and regional levels facilitate its application within a nation state. The central thesis is that, while there is extensive interaction between actors at sub-national level, this should not be seen as a proxy for policy influence. The local political arena is characterised less by multi-level governance than by multi-level dialogue. Sub-national actors participate but they are rarely major players in shaping policy outcomes: the plurality which characterises sub-central governance does not reflect a pluralist power structure. [source] Anti-drink driving reform in Britain, c. 1920,80ADDICTION, Issue 9 2010Bill Luckin ABSTRACT Aim The goal of this report is to provide a framework for understanding and interpreting political, scientific and cultural attitudes towards drink driving in 20th-century Britain. Exploring the inherent conservatism of successive governments, Members of Parliament (MPs) and the public towards the issue during the interwar years, the contribution seeks to explain the shift from legislative paralysis to the introduction of the breathalyser in 1967. Design Based on governmental, parliamentary and administrative records, the report follows a mainly narrative route. It places particular emphasis on connections between post-war extra-parliamentary and parliamentary movements for reform. Setting The paper follows a linear path from the 1920s to the 1970s. Britain lies at the heart of the story but comparisons are made with nations,particularly the Scandinavian states,which took radical steps to prosecute drinking and dangerous drivers at an early date. Findings The report underlines the vital post-war role played by Graham Page, leading parliamentary spokesman for the Pedestrians' Association; the centrality of the Drew Report (1959) into an ,activity resembling driving'; the pioneering Conservative efforts of Ernest Marples; and Barbara Castle's consolidating rather than radically innovative activities between 1964 and 1967. Conclusion Both before and after the Second World War politicians from both major parties gave ground repeatedly to major motoring organizations. With the ever-escalating growth of mass motorization in the 1950s, both Conservative and Labour governments agonized over gridlock and ,murder on the roads'. Barbara Castle finally took decisive action against drink drivers, but the ground had been prepared by Graham Page and Ernest Marples. [source] Bureaucrats and Politicians in BritainGOVERNANCE, Issue 3 2003Graham K. Wilson The distinctive relationship between bureaucrats and politicians in Britain has been much noted around the world and often used a model by reformers. However, both Conservative and Labour governments have displayed dissatisfaction with the bureaucracy and have made important changes in the "Whitehall model." Some of these changes have reduced the degree to which British politicians have been unusually dependent on a career bureaucracy that is insulated from partisan politics. [source] Regulating labour management in small firmsHUMAN RESOURCE MANAGEMENT JOURNAL, Issue 3 2002Susan Marlow There is a relative paucity of evidence on the management of labour in smaller firms. Research that has been undertaken, while recognising the heterogeneity of the sector, does note the prevalence of informality regarding employee relations. Such informality could be challenged by the increasing regulation of the employment relationship following the election of successive Labour governments since 1997. To illuminate this discussion further, evidence drawn from a study of employment regulation is offered. A number of smaller firm owners and their employees were interviewed to ascertain their views on the impact of regulation on the employment relationship. Owners were largely resistant to it but felt they could accommodate changes with relatively little disruption to their existing approach to labour management. Meanwhile, most employees felt the effect of regulation would be muted due to their position as smaller firm labour. [source] Capturing Government Policy on the Left,Right Scale: Evidence from the United Kingdom, 1956,2006POLITICAL STUDIES, Issue 4 2009Armèn Hakhverdian The left,right scheme is the most widely used and parsimonious representation of political competition. Yet, long time series of the left,right position of governments are sparse. Existing methods are of limited use in dynamic settings due to insufficient time points which hinders the proper specification of time-series regressions. This article analyses legislative speeches in order to construct an annual left,right policy variable for Britain from 1956 to 2006. Using a recently developed content analysis tool, known as Wordscores, it is shown that speeches yield valid and reliable estimates for the left,right position of British government policy. Long time series such as the one proposed in this article are vital to building dynamic macro-level models of politics. This measure is cross-validated with four independent sources: (1) it compares well to expert surveys; (2) a rightward trend is found in post-war British government policy; (3) Conservative governments are found to be more right wing in their policy outputs than Labour governments; (4) conventional accounts of British post-war politics support the pattern of government policy movement on the left,right scale. [source] | |||||||||||||||||||