Blair: Battle on domestic front

Public services are the centre of the looming general election campaign following keynote speeches by Tony Blair and Michael Howard.

In a move that signals further radical reform to come, the prime minister has drawn the battlelines between Tory "choice for the few" and Labour's universal choice for all.

Blair told his audience that reform is essential if the middle classes are to remain engaged with key public services.

The prime minister said he wanted high quality, consumer oriented services - overcoming the "British disease" that said second best schools and hospitals are acceptable.

"With growing capacity in our public services, we can now accelerate reform," he said.

"We have the opportunity to develop a new generation of personalised services, where equity and excellence go hand in hand - services shaped by the needs of those who use them, services with more choice extended to everyone and not just those that can afford to pay.

"Services personal to each and fair to all. This is the battleground for the future of our public services."

New consensus

The prime minister said the vast majority of the centre left now believed that choice was a key component in schools and hospitals.

"Choice puts the levers in the hands of parents and patients," he added.

Yet he conceded that improvement would require "sustained investment" year on year.

The speech came as the Conservatives detailed their proposals for a fundamental overhaul of the NHS.

The party's plans include a pledge to abolish all central targets imposed on hospitals, including the controversial star rating system and waiting lists targets.

"Our approach will mean that, at last, we can make waiting lists in this country a thing of the past. Waiting lists don’t exist in countries like France and Sweden," said Howard.

"Waiting lists are a British disease, and the Right to Choose is the cure. Labour mouth the mantra of choice. But what they mean is choice on their terms. They will lie, lie and lie again about our policy."

The Tory leader went on to warn that Labour does "not own the freehold to this debate".

"The Conservatives want to introduce real choice. The kind of choice that will make the NHS a better place to work. The kind of choice that will end waiting lists," he added.

Wrong-footed?

Labour hopes that by returning to the domestic agenda it can wrong-foot the Tories in areas such as schools and hospitals.

Blair said that Labour, like the Conservatives, want patient choice in the NHS.

But he said added Labour is pledging choice for free, whilst the Conservatives will offer it at a cost. 

Addressing MPs tomorrow, John Reid is expected to confirm that the NHS will look to the private sector in order to reduce maximum NHS waiting times to just three months.

Under the radical plan, which will fuel Labour splits over private provision in the public services, the NHS could buy up to one million operations a year from commercial healthcare firms.

Privately, however, health chiefs concede the plan will only be affordable if the Department of Health can drive down the cost of certain treatments within the private sector.

Choice

Reid is also likely to confirm that patients will be given the right to choose which hospital their are to be treated in.

The health secretary is also set to announce that the NHS will develop walk-in clinics in railway stations in order to make treatment and consultation more convenient for people who work.

Reid is likely to signal that these could be operated on behalf of the NHS by private firms.

And pharmacies are likely to be given the opportunity to deliver medicines to patients' homes - with repeat prescriptions being automatically sent out in order to reduce the paperchase within the health service.

The government is this week also set to announce new plans to combat chronic illness such as diabetes and heart disease in order to reduce the pressure on the NHS.