This book explains the politics of thirty years of 'market reform' in the English NHS, with the rest of the UK a counter-factual. Paton shows how each subsequent reform has been shaped by the confusion left by the previous reform. The long-term ideology has been anti-statist but policy-making at each stage of 'reform' has been driven by short-term politics. The outcome in England has been ever-increasing complexity in the NHS, with significantly increased management costs and no commensurate benefit.

This book provides an original analysis of the trajectory of health policy reform in the United Kingdom from the beginning of the 'Thatcher reforms' in the 1980s right up to the latest changes in England in 2022. Rooted in political science and health policy analysis, it tackles key arguments around the 'new integration' of the NHS since 2015, what the new and emerging NHS structure represents, the UK's poor response to the Covid-19 crisis, and the future threat to a comprehensive public NHS. It includes significant new material on what has happened since 2015, such as the politics of the Covid-19 pandemic, the effects of Brexit, and the conundrum of 'social care'. The book is a scholarly and polemical analysis from an expert who has studied the politics of health services for more than forty years. It will be a key resource for students, academics and policy makers.

In this timely and unique work, Calum Paton assesses the political economy and politics of current health policy in order to explain the underlying causes of problems in the National Health Service. Debates from political theory, political economy and public administration are used to examine health policy made and implemented by New Labour since their election victory in 1997. The author argues that the fundamental nature of health policy is dependent upon the prevailing regime in political economy and also that 'policy overload', contradictions and confusion have rendered the task of coherent implementation very difficult. Although there is implicit comparison, the primary focus is England within the UK (post-devolution), and the book provides a detailed examination of contemporary health policy. Written by an established scholar in the field, it will particularly interest academics, post-graduate students and professionals in health policy, social policy and politics.

In this timely and unique work, Calum Paton assesses the political economy and politics of current health policy in order to explain the underlying causes of problems in the National Health Service. Debates from political theory, political economy and public administration are used to examine health policy made and implemented by New Labour since their election victory in 1997. The author argues that the fundamental nature of health policy is dependent upon the prevailing regime in political economy and also that 'policy overload', contradictions and confusion have rendered the task of coherent implementation very difficult. Although there is implicit comparison, the primary focus is England within the UK (post-devolution), and the book provides a detailed examination of contemporary health policy. Written by an established scholar in the field, it will particularly interest academics, post-graduate students and professionals in health policy, social policy and politics.

This book provides an original analysis of the trajectory of health policy reform in the United Kingdom from the beginning of the ‘Thatcher reforms’ in the 1980s right up to the latest changes in England in 2022. Rooted in political science and health policy analysis, it tackles key arguments around the ‘new integration’ of the NHS since 2015, what the new and emerging NHS structure represents, the UK’s poor response to the Covid-19 crisis, and the future threat to a comprehensive public NHS. It includes significant new material on what has happened since 2015, such as the politics of the Covid-19 pandemic, the effects of Brexit, and the conundrum of ‘social care’. The book is a scholarly and polemical analysis from an expert who has studied the politics of health services for more than forty years. It will be a key resource for students, academics and policy makers.