Okay, as blogging is a far more attractive alternative to what I really should be doing, I shall highlight three achievements of the Blair Years and as succinctly point out why they are (regarded as) partial successes.
The Human Rights Act. This seems a long time ago, and when it was first introduced it was quite scary for public bodies. As a Lambeth Councillor, we contemplated the impact of ordinary people taking the council to court for the right to decent housing. We concluded it would be a Good Thing, if expensive. Some of the actions brought under it have played into the hands of the right-wing hate mongers.
But even though, for example, I believe any school has the right to make rules on uniform and ban the political posturing of headscarves, I think the girls who bring these actions have the right to argue their case. In addition to individual cases, and cases where precedents are set, this has a real impact on thinking about how public policy affects individuals, and has emphasised the presumption of non-discrimination. As a little ordinary person, certain human rights as enshrined in the act have been helpful - to an extent - in challenging planning applications, past and present. However, I regret that in the face of sustained attacks by the Conservative Party and the illiberal self-interested capitalist Press, certain members of the Government have failed to say "This was the right thing to do, and continues to be the right thing, and the occasional perverse result does not in any way diminish its moral correctness."
Freedom of Information Act. Again, I am miffed at the preposterous Private Members Bill that served to exclude MPs from its requirements, on the spurious premise of protection of Individual's Confidentiality. The confidentiality of the individual has always been enshrined in it, and is the reason why HM Treasury refused to release details of David Cameron's employment history. It is also the reason that the Act, so trumpeted pre-1997 took so long to ocme to fruition. But setting a general principle in allowing public access to information previously withheld has changed our attitude and has caused documented changes in perceptions of actual policies.
The third is a bit of a catch all encompassing public spending, from the minimum wage to increased investment in, for example schools and hospitals. If people are living on the minimum wage they are still, certainly in relative terms, and arguably absolutely poor, thus are unlikely to be grateful because, rightly, they want more, valuing their labour at a higher rate.
Not long ago the medical establishment argued that reducing waiting times below 18 months was an impossible task. The fact that they are now weeks is a testament that nothing is impossible. I fully acknowledge that the NHS is not a nirvana of perfection. And I know that there are controversies - drugs withheld by NICE because of dubious clinical efficacy (which is no comfort for someone who hopes it might just be the cure), health trusts overspending in their desire to meet targets (hmm, that's called bad budget management and is intolerable in any organisation public or commercial).
Schools have benefited from actual capital expenditure, which simply did not happen under the Tories. Again, measures have been introduced into schools, such as the Literacy and Numeracy hour, which are boring for the bright child, and constraining for the teacher, but have shown demonstrable improvements in basic literacy and numeracy, without which all the rest of schooling is a waste of time. Still far too many children are leaving school with an inadequate education. The middle classes moan about the cost of higher education (all of which can be deferred until and if the student moves into high earning work). But society as whole benefits most from investment made at an early stage in the most desperate/deprived cases viz Sure Start.
I am not claiming that these are all works of perfection that have created a perfect Britain. I have deliberately avoided highlighting failures. But in my view, they are positives that absolutely would not have happened if the Tories had been in power for the past ten years, and would be threatened if they were to be re-elected. It is easy to be oppositionalist and in Opposition, a lot harder to grasp that the actual task of being in government is sometimes about making hard choices, often about falling short of expectations, and frequently about unleashing the Law of Unintended Consequences. Inevitably and I think correctly, it is the negative aspects that receive more attention from the media (good and bad), rather than the quiet little improvements happening in different areas of our lives. I have never believed that the obstacles to 'excellence' should prevent attempts at 'good', or 'better', or 'something'.
Oh, and my mortgage rates have remained low throughout this period, giving me an incredible amount of freedom unimaginable under the 15% of Tory Misrule.
I shall employ a capricious approach to censorship of comments. Don't even bother writing personal attacks 'what about Iraq' etc because they will simply be junked
