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The Magic “M” Word
Posted by Sara Scarlett (@sscrltt)
Monday, 21st December 2009
3 months ago I floated the idea (not entirely seriously, I might add) that in the even of a hung parliament the only other party the LibDems should consider going into coalition with is the Cooperative Party. My main aim was to spark a discussion about how mutual solutions should be used to make welfare and services more efficient.
A couple of things have happened. In one corner we have Devils’ Kitchen giving speeches on friendly societies and in another we have Tessa Jowell talking about Cooperative Schools. Furthermore, Philip Blonds think tank ResPublica launched in November and aside from being one of David Cameron’s favourites I have it on excellent authority that they are being courted by Nick Clegg.
So why are LPUK, New Labour, the Tories and the LibDems all singing from the same hymn sheet? All roads lead to the “M” word “mutualism”.
Well, New Labour have done the libertarian cause a great many favours. Their brand of authoritarian social democracy has not only bankrupted the country but they have simply shown that more money does not equal better public services. Throwing money randomly in all directions has not improved the quality or the efficiency of services. In fact, it has had the opposite effect. It does matter how that money is spent.
In “The Ownership State”, Philip Blond shows how NHS productivity has gone down despite record investment:
Dishing out public services according to a centralised paradigm is failing. The fact that politicians from every angle of the spectrum are discussing new ways to structure how we deliver service is testament that this is the beginning of the end.
