WRITTEN ON June 6th, 2006 BY William Heath AND STORED IN Uncategorized

According to the Beeb

Voter support for investment in public services is at risk if performance does not improve, Tony Blair has said. Change is “not about attacking public services, but saving and inspiring them”, Mr Blair told a conference.

In a message likely to anger some trade unions, Mr Blair argued public services have much in common with business, despite their different ethos.

This was a weird gig at the National School for Tribal Studies I applied to go and was turned down, as was my colleague Ruth. Our journalist colleague was invited by the #10 press office to hear the PM, but wasn’t allowed to stay to hear Gordon Brown. Anyway, back to the plot:

Mr Blair told the National School of Government conference that public services were different from business because they did not depend on profit and loss. But there was a danger people [[yeah, right, name five...whoops, there are five million]] did not realise that public services, like businesses, had to be run productively. “In doing so, we confuse the ethos of public service with the vested interest of keeping things as they are, failing to adapt to necessary change,” said Mr Blair.

Schools, hospitals and other services had improved but ministers had to show they were tackling serious failures, such as the recent crisis in tracking foreign prisoners, he said. “I know that if, having put in this extra money we can’t show clearly, demonstrably, that the service has got radically better, then the consent from the public for investment is in jeopardy.” Continual change was needed, he argued, calling for structures which encouraged innovation without “prodding” from government.

Yes, like quick wins and co-creation.

Meanwhile David Cameron says the Tories will stop beating up on the public sector and telling it to be more like the private sector and will instead be more reasonable and constructive. Hurrah. perhaps they’ll do a “Wibbi” manifesto.