If the conservatives were to seize power at the next election one might think that, in order to make a noticeable difference, they will need to take a revolutionary approach. This may make a good rallying call, but it is only half true. Debating whether change should be evolutionary or revolutionary suggests that all that matters is the pace of change.
However, if the goal is to transform public services in Britain, what matters most is the way things are changed and, crucially, the direction of that change. Better to do things right and slowly, than fast but wrong. Revolutions are not necessarily a bad thing but should always be handled with care. In my opinion, a good revolution is one that liberates people to do things they weren’t doing before; a bad one tells people how they must do things in a new way. A good revolution doesn’t change the system overnight but removes the barriers that stop systems from changing.
With all three parties in favour of pushing further in the direction of the market-based reforms, started by former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, this is an extremely exciting time in public services. I predict that historians will look back at this period as a revolutionary one, whatever the outcome of the next election.
This issue of Ethos investigates evolution and revolution in government and public services. Stephen Pollard looks back at Eastern Europe during a year of change, 1989, and asks what has happened to public services in the intervening decades. Meanwhile, Will Hutton, Iain Duncan Smith, Paul Corrigan and others reveal their favourite innovations in the public sector. Finally, Polly Toynbee reports on the (re)evolutionary changes that have taken place in the realm of childcare for the under fives, culminating in the Sure Start Children’s Centre programme, which will see 3,500 centres open by 2010.
Focusing on other topics, Peter Riddell assesses the performance of Liberal Democrat leader Nick Clegg and Philip Johnston asks whether neighbourhood policing can be declared a success.
Anthony Browne | Guest Editor