The NHS has traditionally been organized, like most public services, on the basis of place. This has been both a control and a planning mechanism. It is a planning mechanism because it uses available information about the demographic and health profile of an area and seeks to match provision to need. It is also a […]

It is widely recognised, and mostly accepted, that ‘utilities’ provide a public service and not just private services, so it is legitimate to regulate them in ways that ensure the public interest. This is partly because there are always elements of natural monopoly in the way in which these services – power, water, fixed line […]

Back in the early 1990s I was living in London and my then GP was Dr John Dunwoody, ex husband of formidable Labour MP Gwyneth Dunwoody and himself a former Labour MP. John ran a singleton practice on the edge of Clapham Common. I was visiting John as a patient just after the first wave […]

Sorry for the absence of posts for a while – I have been off-line due to domestic issues involving the health service – hence the next blog!

There has been huge hype in the media about the “collapse” of  Labour’s vote in Scotland and the possibility the SNP will win a referendum on independence, when they eventually get around to calling it (they appear to be in no hurry).

Most the commentariate – as usual – focuses on seats delivered by the elections, and not the actual votes cast. Even those who support voting reform (e.g. Polly Toynbee in The Guardian) continue to use seats, as a proxy for actual support, as the main basis for their analysis.

It is well known that there has been something of a “performance movement” (as Beryl Radin has called it) in western countries in recent years. (I have written an account of UK developments for the World Bank myself here).

Britain has just had elections for the three regional assemblies (Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland) and for many local governments in England, as well as a national referendum on changing the voting system for Westminster elections to the Alternative Vote (AV) Here are some random thoughts on these events – I’ll be adding to them […]

From the Financial Times Minimum wage rated top policy, say academics By Nicholas Timmins, Public Policy Editor Published: May 1 2011 What is the most successful policy of the past 30 years? Ask a bunch of political academics and their answer – perhaps surprisingly – is the minimum wage, followed by devolution, privatisation and the […]

The poor nature of the debate about AV – and especially the focus on personalities rather than the issues – has obscured the fact there are serious discussions to be had about our voting system, rather than just slap-stick jousting. So I was immensely pleased to get this reaction from the Leader of the Tory […]