Keeping Everybody Happy.(Institute for Public Policy Research, Tony Blair's Labour Party criticized for leaning towards right politically)(Brief Article)

Great fun, getting re-elected and all. The trouble is, British Prime Minister Tony Blair's Labour Party has flopped so far to the right that, to follow through on its promises, it risks losing support of the left.

No, Blair will not bring down the pillars of the left, Britain's vaunted public-health and education systems. But the "investment" he does plan--a.k.a. spending--may be tilted toward the private sector. A recent report by the Institute for Public Policy Research, whose work tends to be a good guide to Blair policy, hints that under Blair II, much of the money spent by the National Health Service on personal social services will end up in the hands of the private sector. Even more so than during Blair I. Indeed, there have already been signs of the opportunities of privatization: new contracts being negotiated with GPs, who have threatened the system with increased industrial action; consultants warning of a mass defection to the private sector. ...