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For the public good: why people still back government to deliver public services
New research for the Fabian Society has revealed that there is overwhelming support for the role of the state in providing public services.
“For the Public Good: How people want their public services to change” by Natan Doron and Andrew Harrop, launched on Wednesday (22 August) is a major blow to the government’s plans to roll back the state and reform public services.
While David Cameron has called time on the ‘state monopoly’ for the delivery of public services – inviting private companies and charitable organisations to get more involved in the running of them – this new research shows that the Prime Minister is out of step with public opinion. According to the research – which involved a mixture of polling and focus groups – 62 per cent of people responding thought that public services should be provided mainly or only by government, with just 5 per cent supporting provision mainly or only by private companies or charities.
The public were also deeply sceptical of public sector reforms from government with 60 per cent supporting the view that public services should not be run like businesses but rather should reflect the values and ethos of the public good. Only 29 per cent supported the statement: “Government does things very inefficiently. We should let private companies or charities run more of our services.”
The main criticism of public service reforms was that they were inefficient and costly with 53 per cent of people saying that “lots of time and money would be spent reorganising”. Many also voiced fears over privatisation, with 36 per cent saying that when politicians talk of ‘public service reform’ it should be seen as shorthand for privatisation.
While there was some support for greater local user ‘voice’, the government’s localism agenda also had limited support with 56 per cent saying that it would mean "the richest communities will have better services and there will be a postcode lottery".
Andrew Harrop, General Secretary of the Fabian Society said: "David Cameron’s position that there should be ‘no default’ provider for public services looks untenable in the light of this research. People overwhelmingly back the continued central role of government in providing the public services and have little, if any, appetite for an increased role for private companies and charities.
"There is deep unease about the language politicians use to talk about reform. When politicians talk about ‘choice’ or ‘public service reform’ people assume it's doublespeak for encroaching privatisation. Politicians need to re-earn credibility by showing they want to conserve and build on the values and ethos of public service which people support.
"All political parties need to rethink their assumptions about public service reform. People want better public services and more of a collective voice in how they are run. They don't want confusing reorganisations and unaccountable providers."
Brendan Barber General Secretary of the TUC - which supported the research – said: "Public services are under constant attack by a government that has sniffed an opportunity to roll back the state – something the coalition parties didn't dare admit in their manifestos – under the guise of austerity.
"But despite services being constantly talked down by ministers and scaled back by cuts and so called 'reforms', the public still has a strong, deep-rooted commitment to the public service ethos. Millions cheered as Britain showed this commitment to the rest of the world on the biggest stage possible when we hosted this summer’s Olympic Games.
"The quiet majority that support public services now need to stand up for them like never before. We must expose the government's real agenda and what it means for the services that people trust and rely upon. And most of all we need to advocate an alternative economic programme that sees public services as a way to invest in people and our communities."
