Jenny Ozga
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invoked, a diminished idea of the public and of the role and scope of public policy is promoted. Modernised governance thus seeks to create a new hybrid of public and private, a space to be occupied by a redesigned socially and individually responsible citizen, embedded in networks, allowed the freedom to achieve economic and social targets at work and home, and encouraged to accept responsibility for success or the consequences of failure. In the next section, I look at earlier modernisation projects, in order to provide some context for the discussion of the Labour government’s project. It is also important to draw attention to context more generally, as a reminder that this attempted redesign of politics plays out in against existing conditions and relationships. These may prove uncomfortable or resistant to modernisation, and may offer the potential for diversity in the devolved political systems of the UK (Paterson, 2002).