Publications

The Hidden Agenda: The True Face of Cameron's Conservatives

David Blunkett today exposed the "hidden face" of David Cameron's Conservatives — and their plan to do to the social life of Britain what Margaret Thatcher did to our economy.

Download The Hidden Agenda - The True Face of Cameron's Conservatives (pdf)

Mr Blunkett says that there are two forces at work in our society: the power of representative political democracy that gives a voice to everyone; and the power of wealth and privilege, which disproportionately benefits the few.

Labour Governments, he argues, maintain a balance between these forces which is nothing to do with "class war" — but is everything to do with the question of on whose behalf government is working, who thoser who have their hands on power are accountable to and for what purpose.

Mr Blunkett shows how the Conservatives:

• want to hand power to the wealthy and privileged people behind the global economic crisis and take it out of the hands of the less well-off;
• claim to want to ‘free up’ schools and hospitals from central control, while prescribing exactly how they will teach and treat people (transferring power from the consumer to the provider) – as well as passing the buck when things go wrong to arm’s-length agencies and ‘independent boards’;
• are caught between their desire to ‘roll back the State’ on the one hand and their need to lecture us on the ‘broken society’ on the other; and
• will slash parliamentary representation across the country – unbalancing the delicate counterweight so that the rich and powerful have a dual voice, through a majority Conservative Government and the power they hold because of the size of their purse.

Mr Blunkett also attacks Tory plans to re-draw constituency boundaries and slash the number of MPs at Westminster — which, he says, will disproportionately affect disadvantaged areas.

"That is the greatest danger arising out of the expenses scandal," he writes. "Disaffection and disgust with the political process — just at the moment when disgust with the privileged and powerful people who caused the financial crisis should be at its height — will be exploited to disempower those who most need their voice heard in Parliament."

A People's Police Force: Police Accountability in the Modern Era

David Blunkett has published the report of a review of the Labour Party's proposals on police accountability.

A People's Police Force: Police Accountability in the Modern Era assesses the way in which the police answer to the public for the service they provide at three levels: at the police authority level; at the divisional, Basic Command Unit level; and in the neighbourhood and community.

Download A People's Police Force (pdf)

The review rules out the Conservative proposal for elected police commissioners, arguing that the narrow remit of such a post invalidates the arguments for having the post holder being elected — and that the risk of far-right extremists taking control of our police force is too great to be ignored.

There are 28 recommendations in all, including:

• That police authorities be retained, with new skills and competencies to determine their membership – both for councillors and for independent members
• That the idea of directly elected members to a police authority and the notion of elected police commissioners be dropped.
• A strengthened role for police authorities in holding chief constables to account, in approving their strategies for tackling crime and in agreeing the allocation of police budgets. Specifically, to oversee how the police should be helping to account directly in answering to both neighbourhoods and wider communities, open up new, more transparent forums and ensure that police authority meetings are held in public
• That police authorities and local government should engage in commissioning services – from outside the immediate area if necessary – in order to spread best practice, engage with the most effective forms of delivery and ensure value for money
• That capping of local authorities (or nominating for future capping) of budgets should only be triggered if a majority of local authorities in the police service area object to the precept
• That police authorities should work across force boundaries to strengthen their capacity to fight serious and organised crime, new forms of crime including e-crime – and that the Regional Select Committees of the House of Commons should monitor and assess their success in joint operations
• That local communities should be encouraged to hold referenda in defined areas, to decide whether residents would pay an additional levy specifically to commission additional Community Support Officers or uniformed police – and that the Community Call to Action, already on the statute book, giving local people the power to lobby their councillors, should be strengthened to require outside intervention where consistent failure occurs
• That the Government should establish support and training for the development of community leaders who would act as advocates (as envisaged in the 2003 White Paper) on behalf of the community, and a direct link with the police in the most challenged areas (and a revitalisation of Neighbourhood Watch)

Mr Blunkett said: "We have emphasised the critical nature of the different tiers and levels of accountability. The police should be accountable directly to the public at the neighbourhood and Basic Command Unit level – and we are setting out here a clear role for police authorities, elected councillors, the diversity provided by independent members and how best to hold the Chief Constable to account for those aspects of policing for which he is responsible.

“In essence, we are underlining that the police should be accountable to the public and the police authority should hold the Chief Constable and his leadership team to account for how that is implemented, the information that is given to the public, the relevance and effectiveness of neighbourhood and community-wide meetings and the proper reporting back which is essential to building confidence and reassurance."

Mutual Action, Common Purpose: Empowering the Third Sector

David Blunkett has launched the report of a review of the Third Sector commissioned by Prime Minister Gordon Brown. Mutual Action, Common Purpose: Empowering the Third Sector is published by the Fabian Society with sponsorship from Community.

Read the full report (pdf)

In the pamphlet, Mr Blunkett and a working group of Labour MPs lay down a direct challenge to the Conservatives’ concept of ‘Broken Britain’ by contrasting this pessimism with the vibrancy, personal commitment and generosity in time and money of the British people.

The report on the voluntary, community, social enterprise and co-operative sector touches not only on new ways of tackling old problems, but also the building of capacity and capability within the community; developing the assets and talent of men and women across the country; and using government as an empowerer and enabler of people to face both opportunities and difficulties, enabling them to make a difference in their own life and the wellbeing of those around them.

Mr Blunkett said: “If one thing above all refutes the suggestions that Britain is ‘broken’, it is the strength of our Third Sector, and the contribution which men and women make to the self help, independence and vibrancy which government can assist but should never replace.
 
“I’ve always been taken by the slogan ‘think global, act local’, and there’s never been a better moment to put this in to practice. Gordon Brown has been bold and decisive not only in crucial decisions on the economy here in Britain but taking a lead internationally. I hope that that boldness will equally apply to building on the enormous progress that’s been made over the last 11 years in regenerating communities, encouraging the values of mutuality and giving, and reinforcing the glue that holds our society together.

“In short, a redefining of the role of government, of the relationship between government and governed and in the challenge to meet growing need, to deliver support and care, and the reform and modernisation of the delivery of publicly funded services."

A sample of the key recommendations from the 56 proposals in the report are:

• A civil volunteer corps trialled in 3 or 4 demonstration cities (involving incentives to ensure that all young people between the ages of 16 and 25 undertake at least 6 months intensive volunteering
• That Gift Aid should be retained from 2011, offering both individuals and corporate givers greater incentives and increasing benefit for recipients
• The development of a national recognition scheme, which in addition to the honours system would offer a way of thanking people for the giving of time or cash, facilitating good causes, and offering the possibility of developing incentives for junior level givers of time, and young philanthropists
• Developing incentives for major employers to release staff for specific voluntary opportunities where this would link time from work with time out of work – such as special constables working as trained support to the police service
• The NHS should engage volunteers to signpost patients and visiting families in hospitals, and to act as gatekeepers helping to avoid hospital acquired infections by assisting visitors with handwashing, as well as to assist nurses and support staff in ensuring that the most vulnerable patients receive food and drink at mealtimes
• That volunteering should be promoted as part of the citizenship curriculum
• That all those taking up retirement pension should be supplied automatically with details of volunteering opportunities, including being given contact details for local and regional voluntary action co-ordinators

Report of the Yellow School Bus Commission

The Yellow School Bus Commission, a cross-party investigatory group chaired by David Blunkett, has published its recommendations.

Read the full report (pdf, 1.6MB)

The Commission includes representatives of the main political parties and experts in education and transport. During its year-long review of school transport, it discovered that the number of children travelling to school by car has doubled in the last 20 years – 41% of primary and 21% of secondary school pupils are now being taken on the ‘school run’. This represents around one in five of car trips in the morning peak and on some roads journey times can double.

The Commission reports that a national roll out of yellow school buses (YSBs) would offer children and parents a safe and attractive option for commuting to and from school; reduce local traffic congestion; benefit the environment; improve safety and wellbeing; and improve attendance and timeliness.

The Commission recommends that:

• all schools should continue to promote walking and cycling for pupils living within one mile from primary school and two miles from secondary school;
• dedicated school buses should be provided for primary school children living over one mile from school;
• secondary school pupils should be encouraged to use scheduled bus services but dedicated school buses should be provided for distances greater than two miles to secondary schools where there is limited provision of scheduled bus services, or serious behaviour problems with pupils on the public bus network, or the potential to link with primary school YSBs.

As well as providing safe and secure transport for children these new buses would remove up to 180 million unnecessary car journeys per year.

The report estimates that providing school buses to primary schools would lead to financial benefits of £460m a year to parents and road users, with parents alone saving £92 million a year on fuel and other vehicle costs. There would also be a net reduction of over 55,000 tonnes of carbon emissions per annum.

David Blunkett called on government, locally and nationally, to take forward the recommendations, saying: “This is a forward-looking, realistic and highly relevant contribution to the debate not simply about transport, but about energy use, climate change and the sensible use and conservation of resources. This is about broad and highly relevant political issues as well as, crucially, the education, safety and security of our children.

“We are proposing a long-term programme which could revolutionise the way we do the ‘school run’. But this is not just about the length of time parents spend getting their children to school; it is also about the impact this has on both society and business and enterprise, as well as key issues of energy conservation and climate change.”