The Labour Govt's legacy

[Peter]

Something Al said in the US General discussion got me thinking about what the legacy of this government will ultimately be.

There are a number of options:

Internationally, the legacy will certainly be tied to Iraq and Afghanistan, and the relationship with the Bush administration. I doubt if history will much remember his stand with Clinton to send peacekeepers into Kosovo.

What the result here will be is yet to be determined since Iraq and Afghanistan will not show a true impression of their direction for some years yet I suspect.

Also, other sidenotes include dealing with Poverty in Africa (probably unsuccessfully), signing Kyoto, and maybe being a little more co-operative than the Tories in the EU.

Domestically, there is much more scope for a legacy to evolve:

1. The Economy

Certainly I feel that the Bank of England will be a lasting legacy - the devolution of control of the Base Interest Rates shortly after coming to power will probably not be reversed in my lifetime.

Another part of the legacy is the Minimum Wage - I don't see this being removed long term, with former opponents in the Lib Dems and the Tories now having converted to support it.

All in all the economy has faired quite well during the Brown tenure as Chancellor (it is he who I credit its success too) with continued growth and a relatively well balanced budget, though this has begun to slip recently.

2. Education, Education, Education

These were the three priorities of the Labour government when it came to power in 1997.

I'm to a point slightly disappointed here - whilst there has been improvements, especially in the primary system, they haven't been near what one could realistically have hoped for. The shambles of AS levels and the continuing uncertainty over the future of what will happen to 14-18 education means that ultimately the government cannot build a legacy for itself in secondary education.

University education, has, if anything, gotten worse. Whilst the newer reforms have made things slightly better (fees paid after graduation), hundreds of thousands of students have still ultimately gotten a raw deal financially, and there hasn't been much of an improvement in the qualities of some degrees issued, or the so-called "Mickey Mouse" degrees.

3. Healthcare

Whilst the NHS has managed quite successfully to continue what its always done, i.e. treating life-threatening conditions quickly, its still failed to really get to grips with treating the quality of life problems that mean people have to go on in pain for some time. I have to say that the spectre of choice is no more apparent to me today than it was 8 years ago.

Whilst foundation hospitals may ultimately change this (though I am sceptical), the seemingly billions poured into the NHS may not see much return.

4. Social Issues

The quiet gay rights revolution has seen the age of consent equalised and the Civil Partnerships Act is likely to cast a legacy into history.

Cannabis may have been decriminalised, but long term this won't be particularly remembered unless it is fully legalised. On the down side, I think the fox hunting furore will be remembered as nothing more than a farce with far too much Parliamentary time wasted on it.

Doubtless, things like paternity leave will become more of a part of our society in years to come.

5. Constitutional Reform

The House of Lords - it was right to remove the hereditaries and devolve its judicial functions, but the failure to finish the job and find some consensus on the matter means that the lasting legacy is nothing more than a damp squib.

Devolution - Devolution to the three "countries" of the Union and to London will probably ultimately prove to be the right thing to have done. Without a root and branch reconsideration of how local govt works elsewhere in England will we see elected regional governments in the rest of England. This being unlikely, Prescott's dream of regional assemblies will never come to light.

Electoral reform - Whilst it is used in the devolved assemblies and EU elections, it will likely not see reform at the local govt level in England and certainly not the Parliamentary level under this govt.

I could go on all day. I might do some more tomorrow.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

This will take a while and several posts...

1. Anti-poverty/Economic Development

That something radical on this front was going to happen was evident from the decision in 1997 to abolish the UDC's and various other unsuccesful programmes/development schemes from the '80's.
There have been huge, huge improvements across the board; the minimum wage and the New Deal are the best known examples, but other things like the New Deal for Communities (and countless programmes even less known than that) have made a real difference in severely deprived areas.
It won't be possible to evaluate the sucess of several new programmes (tax credits, SureStart etc) for quite a few years. My main complaint is the failure to make a big deal about the greatest progress on the anti-poverty front since Attlee.

2. Healthcare

As always with the NHS it depends what angle you look at it; but from my point of view (as someone from a low income background with a longterm illness) the changes to the NHS have been largely sucessful.
The insane "Internal Market" (which seems to have been a precuser to privatisation) was abolished very early on and the NHS is finally getting the amount of money it needs to get a decent job done (it's was chronically underfunded in the '80's and early '90's). While I can't speak for the national picture, the quality of healthcare in the hospitals I've used (especially North Staffs.) has greatly improved in recent years.
My main complaint is the growth of a target based culture in the NHS (although I'm well aware that this would have been the case no matter who was in power).

More soon...

Oh, and here's a list of the New Deal for Community areas...

North East

*West Middlesborough
*West Gate
*East End & Hendon
*West Central Hartlepool

North West

*Kensington
*Beswick & Openshaw
*Charlestown & Lower Kersal
*Hathershaw & Fitton Hill
*North Huyton
*Old Heywood

Yorkshire & The Humber

*Little Horton
*Preston Road
*Burngreave
*Doncaster Central

East Midlands

*Radford
*Braunstone
*Derwent

West Midlands

*Kings Norton
*Greets Green
*Blakenall
*All Saints & Blakenhall
*WEHM
*Aston

East of England

*North Earlham & Marlpit
*Marsh Farm

London

*Shoreditch Our Way
*Ocean Estate
*West Ham & Plaistow
*Aylesbury
*New Cross Gate
*South Kilburn
*Finsbury
*Seven Sisters
*North Fulham
*Clapham Park

South East

*East Brighton
*Thornhill

South West

*Barton Hill
*Devonport

[Rural Radical]

The minimum Wage. Universally derided by the Tories as was the NHS IN 1948. So popular as a social safety net that no future Tory government would dare abolish it.

Also Iraq (sadly)

[○∙◄☻¥tπ[╪AV┼cVê└]

Yes, they enabled Bush with Iraq. Blair's son is interning with a curropt Republican on the Commitee on Rules in the House. Note to British: Get the Republicans out of office.

[Јas]

Northern Ireland
Together with the Irish government and the representatives of the Unionist and Nationalist communities, making a serious effort to come to a reasonable compromise and end the violence, largely achieving it.