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PRIVATIZATION AND THE LABOUR GOVERNMENTS 1997–2010
Author(s) -
PARKER David
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
annals of public and cooperative economics
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.526
H-Index - 37
eISSN - 1467-8292
pISSN - 1370-4788
DOI - 10.1111/apce.12018
Subject(s) - government (linguistics) , political science , public administration , economic history , economics , philosophy , linguistics
ABSTRACT The history of privatization, first under the Margaret Thatcher Governments from 1979 to 1990 and then under the two John Major Governments between 1990 and 1997, has been extensively researched. However, there has been relatively little attention paid to the privatization policies of the Labour Governments between May 1997 and May 2010. Despite Labour opposing each of the Conservatives’ privatizations during the 1980s and 1990s, privatization continued after 1997 and especially in the form of PFI schemes. The study provides a comprehensive review of privatization under Labour Governments and confirms that there was a remarkable degree of policy continuity after 1997 with some privatizations postponed by the Conservatives completed under Labour. The paper draws on official reports and documents. It also draws on records that I was given access to as the UK Government's Official Historian of Privatization.