The bureaucratic revolution initiated by Margaret Thatcher was at the heart of New Labour’s strategy for modernizing Britain. New Labour wanted to put consumers of public services at the centre of public serv- ices and, to the maximum possible extent, limit the influence of producers in particular, the public sector unions, which were regarded as one of the most conservative forces in the country. Transformation of the mode of governing that is, incessant, sometimes contradictory reform of the public sector was the badge of the Blair governments.
It took the form of autonomy for the basic units of public management (schools, hospitals, social services), but flanked by a battery of statistical measures, indicators, and objectives for results or improvements in performance.