PUBLIC-SERVICES UNDER NEW LABOR - BACK TO BUREAUCRACY

The public service policies of the present Labour Government are asses sed against a conceptual model of bureaucracy. In particular is there evidence of a shift away from the market reforms of the Conservatives, and a move towards bureaucratic methods of resource allocation and se rvice delivery ? If is concluded that there is cc small, but significa nt, shift back to bureaucracy: if Conservative policies consisted of ' marketization at the margins', then Labour reforms can be described as of 'bureaucratization at the boundaries'. The potential consequences of this change in emphasis are considered.