I have to take issue with Andrew Sullivan’s post on the UK EU Parliamentary Election results. He’s taken on the issue of Labour’s Public Services record and actually claimed that the country is losing faith in it when the latest polls actually show an increased belief in the government’s ability and notably its achievement in delivery and reform. Here’s my email to him:
Sorry Andrew, but you’re wrong in your EU parliamentary vote analysis.
“But there’s also the beginning of an understanding that Blair’s approach to public services - lots more money, minimal reform - won’t and can’t work.”
This analysis is not borne out by the results of the BBC commissioned ICM poll, in fact the poll contradicts it absolutely. There has been an increase in the country’s belief that Labour has increased public services efficiency and delivery, a matter that has been clung to by Labour front benchers struggling for buoyancy following the tsunami of ‘Super Thursday’ and the election double bill. The fact is that it’s on two fronts, Public Services and the Economy that Labour are really surging ahead of the Tories and Lib Dems. Your analysis is way off but you’re not to be blamed entirely as despite the amount of attention given to it during the BBC’s election coverage, the poll hasn’t really been covered in the mainstream media.
Secondly you claim there has been a lack of reform from Blair to go along with his increased spending. I refute this utterly as the Labour government has been pushing for public service reform with such gusto that it’s been leaving the parliamentary party dragging behind. One only has to look at the Higher Education bill to see, not only that Blair desires and is capable of implementing sweeping, radical reform but also that the Tories are far from a party capable of forming government.
The Conservatives opposed the government’s Higher Education plans in a fit of opportunistic naivety in spite of the reform bill’s strong right wing flavour (for which Michael Howard was strongly rebuked in the right wing press). Howard ventured no alternatives of his own and honestly offered nothing more to the British public than Ya-Boo politics.
Blair has time and time again called for “radical reform” and he has delivered it, in spite of opposition both from within his own party and at times from ill-conceived Tory efforts to rock his premiership at the expense of public sector reform.
I’m sorry Andrew but on this matter you’re dead wrong.
Best Wishes
John Swaine
The Mac.com SMTP server is playing up at the moment so it might not get through to him for a while.
Later
John
Posted by John Swaine at June 14, 2004 07:37 PM | TrackBack