New Labour's state of health: political economy, public policy and the NHS

This book is about New Labour’s health policy and the impact political economy has on public policy. As in other areas of the public sector, reforms based on ideas taken from the market cause reforms in the way the provision of the services is organised. When Labour came into power in 1997, the internal market was officially abandoned but important aspects of the reforms were carried out under Thatcher, such as the continuation of the provider—purchaser split. As Webster ww1x p. 236x points out, Labour called their approach to modernisation ‘‘integrated care’’ or a ‘‘third way’’. But despite the critique of the conservatives’ NHS policies, New Labour coming into power did not bring about a major policy shift towards the NHS. Calum Paton takes a critical stance toward New Labour’s policy and dismantles what he sees as the fundamental problems.